ADB approved loan for Uzbekistan
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a political risk guarantee and loan totaling about $400 million to help build the Surgil Natural Gas Chemicals Project in the Uzbekistan. It is the largest-ever petrochemical plant. It will produce gas for conversion and for commercial use into chemical intermediates used in the textiles and plastics industries. Uz-Kor Gas Chemical LLC is the operator and developer of this project. It is a joint venture company that owned by a consortium of Republic of Korea companies, comprising Korea Gas Corporation, Korea Stock Exchange-listed Honam Petrochemical Corporation, and a unit of STX Corp STX Energy with state-controlled oil and gas company National Holding Company Uzbekneftegaz.
Behind the Russian Federation, Uzbekistan is the second largest gas producer in the Commonwealth of Independent States, with total reserves of 59.4 trillion cubic feet. The petrochemical industry in Uzbekistan is very small. It is meaning the country gets less benefit than it shall from its abundant gas reserves. Developing the domestic petrochemical sector will create jobs, diversify the country’s economy and generate additional revenues.
The Surgil Natural Gas Chemicals Project is located about 1,300 kilometers from the capital Tashkent in the Karakalpakstan region. Throughout the life of the project, it will have supply capacity of about 4.5 billion cubic meters per annum of natural gas. It will include ethylene cracker, production wells, pipelines, onsite power generation, and polymer plants.
