Jizzakh Petroleum to commission new complex based on methanol-to-olefins technology

Jizzakh Petroleum, an oil and gas company focused on developing Uzbekistan’s energy sector, has announced significant progress in the construction of a new gas chemical complex based on methanol-to-olefins (MTO) technology.

The MTO project has no comparison in the CIS region based on both the planned scale and technical capabilities of the plant.

When completed, the new state-of-the-art gas chemical complex is expected to process 1.5bcm of natural gas per annum and manufacture more than 700 kta high-quality polymers used in many sectors of the worldwide economy.

Successful completion of the project will further diversify Uzbekistan’s economy, develop its domestic textile, chemical and parapharmaceutical industries, and reduce import levels into Uzbekistan.

Jizzakh Petroleum is a major investor in the project located in the Bukhara region of Uzbekistan, which will use domestic feedstock to enable monetization of natural gas, via the production of export-oriented and high value-added products in demand within the country. The creation of the future Gas Chemical Complex will lead to the development of the domestic textile industry, as well as import substitution and an increase of production in the automotive and construction industries.

Since the beginning of this year, the company has inked six technology licence agreements with leading international companies as Chemtex (Invista) (USA), Scientific Design (USA), Versalis (Italy), Haldor Topsoe (Denmark), Grace (USA), Sinopec (China)

These milestones follow the September 2020 announcement on site selection and the completion of marketing and feasibility studies by consulting and technical partners - IHS Markit, Nexant, and Wood.

Other milestones include:

• Jizzakh Petroleum has engaged White & Case as the project’s legal advisor and Mott MacDonald as Environmental and Social Impact Assessment consultant;
• An agreement has been signed with Woodon FEED
• Formal letters of intent have been received from SACE (ECA of Italy) and Bank Intesa Sanpaolo (Italy) for financing FEED;

Negotiations have taken place with Marco Polo International (USA) and KTM Kimyevi Maddeler (Turkey) for the offtake of polymer products

Minister of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan Alisher Sultanov said: “The Government of Uzbekistan welcomes the progress that has been achieved in relation to this Bukhara complex. We view this project as a model for future interaction between Uzbekistan business and international partners. This partnership is the key to the accelerated development program being implemented by our government, in particular, the Ministry of Energy. Having completed site selection just last year, we are delighted that discussions with Jizzakh Petroleum have so quickly led to this series of agreements with major international licensors.”