A joint venture between Uzbekneftegaz and Russian energy giant Gazprom says it is moving forward with a previously announced revamp of a refinery in Fergana, Uzbekistan, including an API Group II and III upgrade of a base oil plant there.
Jizzakh Petroleum, the joint venture, announced in a June 19 press release that it will spend U.S. $300 million on the refinery project, which will also raise the quality of gasoline produced by the facility. The press release indicated that there has been a one-year delay in the overall schedule for the overall project, pushing the start-up of the base oil plant to 2023.
“The modernization envisages introduction of vacuum distillates hydrocracking process, isomerization of the light naphtha and units for production of concentrated hydrogen,” Jizzakh said in its June 19 press release.
In 2018 officials at the Fergana refinery said the base oil project would give that plant capacity to produce 100,000 metric tons per year of Group II and III base stocks. Currently the facility can make 200,000 t/y of Group I stocks. Officials originally expected the base oil upgrade to be completed by 2022.
Earlier this year control of the Fergana refinery was ceded to Jizzakh by Uzbekneftegaz, a state-owned holding company for the energy industry. Its joint venture partner, Gas Project Development Central Asia, is a unit of Gazprom International, the international business of the Russian energy company. Axens, a French supplier of petroleum refining technology, will license technology for the refinery revamp, which will enable Fergana to make cleaner gasoline and Euro 5 standard diesel beginning in July 2023. Wood engineering will be the lead engineering company.
Jizzakh Petroleum, a joint venture of Uzbekneftegaz and Gas Project Development Central Asia, will revamp the Uzbek refinery in Fergana, including modernization of the site’s base oil and finished lubricants production.