Uzbekistan is taking the country’s industrial sector to a new level

by ANKASAM Ekip
Perizat RISBEK KIZI

On December 25-26, the head of state Shavkat Mirziyoyev participated in the opening ceremony of the Uzbekistan GTL plant, located in the Guzar district of the Kashkadarya region.

The construction of the plant, located on an area of 135 hectares, lasted almost 5 years since 2017 and cost more than $ 3.4 billion, of which $ 2.3 billion was provided by a consortium of international investors.  As noted, the plant will convert natural gas, which is in high demand on the world market, into finished products, the cost of which is three times higher. With the help of modern installations, the enterprise will be able to process 3.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year and produce 1.5 million tons of finished products worth more than $ 1 billion. In particular, it is planned to produce 307 thousand tons of aviation kerosene, 724 thousand tons of diesel fuel, 437 thousand tons of naphtha and 53 thousand tons of liquefied gas. This will increase imports of petroleum products by $ 500 million per year, exports – by $ 200 million, as well as cover all costs through tax revenues in the amount of $ 2 trillion.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Economy, given the constant growth of the energy market, the use of GTL fuel is one of the most efficient, economical, and safe ways to reduce air emissions. In terms of its scale, the UzGTL synthetic liquid fuel plant is one of the largest investment projects not only in Uzbekistan, but also in the CIS countries. It is noted that such factories in the world were built only in four countries – Qatar, Nigeria, South Africa and Malaysia.

If we focus on the main advantages of the project, the following points can be highlighted:

  • Reducing Uzbekistan’s dependence on imports of crude oil and transport fuels

After the collapse of the USSR, the countries of Central Asia, which have modest oil reserves, were forced to import fuel from Russia and other countries. Despite this, according to Tinkoff, Uzbekistan possesses rich gas reserves, which made it possible to use technologies for the production of oil products of high environmental quality from gas raw materials. Thus, GTL products will be of strategic importance, especially in terms of ensuring and maintaining the fuel and energy independence of Uzbekistan and with the start of production at the GTL plant, the import of diesel fuel and crude oil to the republic will be significantly reduced.

  • The GTL is environmentally friendly

The plant is also unique because the production of products from natural gas using the GTL technology is carried out in three stages. Modern fuels made using this technology are environmentally friendly. For example, from diesel fuel GTL, which has high technical characteristics and has practically no sulfur content, hydrogen sulfide will not enter the atmosphere. When burned, it will emit 40 percent less exhaust gas into the atmosphere than other traditional types.

  • Thousand new job places

The UzGTL company plans to create about a thousand new jobs. For the training of young specialists, it is planned to organize professional training based on a new approach. For this, all professional centers will be connected in the region. In addition, a new enterprise, estimated at $ 1.8 billion, will be built next to the plant. It will process 430 thousand tons of naphtha per year, producing 380 thousand tons of polyethylene and polypropylene. It will also create about a thousand new jobs.

Moreover, according to Jonathan Bell, the success of the GTL project paves the way for other major industrial projects in the country. After this project, more involvement of a wider range of international financiers is to be expected.

In this way, the construction of such a major project as GTL becomes a symbol of a new stage in the industrial sector of Uzbekistan, indicating a new path towards a more sustainable, prosperous and green future. Thanks to such large-scale projects, the country is gradually strengthening its energy independence, creating new jobs, increasing the well-being of its people and attracting foreign investment, thereby having a beneficial effect on the rest of Central Asia.

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