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FSUOGM PROJECTS & COMPANIES FSUOGM

UNG hires South Korea’s SK to

plan refinery overhaul

UZBEKISTAN UZBEKISTAN’S national oil company (NOC) fallen into disrepair. The Bukhara plant was built
Uzbekneftegaz (UNG) has signed a deal hiring in 1997 and has not been upgraded since then. Its
SK said the deal was South Korea’s SK Engineering& Construction to modernisation is divided into three stages run-
worth $7.2mn. undertake front-end engineering design (FEED) ning until 2025, according to schedule published
work for the overhaul of the Bukhara oil refinery. by UNG last year. Once the project is finished,
SK said the deal was worth $7.2mn the plant will produce up to 1.2mn tonnes per
The agreement builds on a co-operation pact year of gasoline, 200,000 tpy of jet fuel, 750,000
UNG entered into with SK in April last year on tpy of diesel and 30,000 tpy of fuel oil.
modernising the 50,000 barrel per day (bpd) Uzbekistan had earlier intended to build a
refinery at a cost of $600mn, so that it produces brand new refinery in the eastern Jizzakh region,
Euro-5 standard AI-92 gasoline and diesel. but abandoned this plan in favour of focusing
The project also aims to raise the refining on the modernisation of its existing plants in
depth of the Bukhara plant from 79% to 95%, Bukhara and Ferghana instead. Last month
and increase its production of light oil products, Uzbekistan launched a $300mn revamp project
including vehicle fuels and jet kerosene, from at the Ferghana oil refinery. The project is being
77% to 91% of the total. implemented by a joint venture between UNG
Bukhara is one of three oil refineries in and an affiliate of Russia’s Gazprom.
Uzbekistan, with the country’s combined oil Low levels of refining throughput mean that
processing capacity estimated at over 230,000 Uzbekistan depends heavily on fuel imports,
bpd. But the plants typically process much less leaving it open to the risk of shortages during
crude than this, with throughput amounting to times of peak demand. Beyond the inadequate
only 70,000 bpd last year. state of its refineries, double-landlocked Uzbek-
Part of the issue is that the refineries are out- istan has also had difficulty obtaining enough
moded, with some of their equipment having crude oil for its plants. ™

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