Sanoat Energetika Guruhi (Jizzakh Petroleum brand) announced the start of a large-scale modernization of the Fergana Oil Refinery, Spot reported.
The company promises to carry out the “largest and most comprehensive” capacity upgrade since the plant’s launch in 1959. In the course of the work, it is planned to demolish a number of installations that “required demolition for a long time”.
In their place, new systems will be built and integrated for the production of demanded products, SEG Executive Director Tulkin Yusupov said.
This includes “modern gasoline, which is not currently produced in Uzbekistan, modern oils, and other types of products”. Some goods, according to Yusupov, “will compete with many foreign players in foreign markets”.
SEG has raised over $160 million for the project. Agreements have been signed with France’s Axens and Italy’s Wood, and a feasibility study and a basic upgrade project are ready with hydrocracking technology configuration approval. 3D models of new plants are 60% complete.
A steam-boiler and water treatment system, hydrocracking, hydrogen production and short-cycle absorption units are being built on the territory of the refinery. A new control room, a laboratory and tanks for raw materials and products are also being built.
The amount of investments planned to be attracted to the project exceeds $400 million. The work is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023.
By this time, the Fergana Oil Refinery will be the first in Uzbekistan to start producing Euro-5 gasoline with an octane rating higher than AI-92. SEG also plans to launch the production of JET A1 fuel, modern base and motor oils.
As a result of the modernization, the volume of processing of raw materials will double - up to 2 million tons per year. The capacity upgrade will also bring the plant closer to international environmental standards.
SEG closed the purchase of the Fergana Oil Refinery in May for $100 million, after managing it for almost two years before that. The company pledged to invest $380 million in the modernization and expansion of production.
