Uzbek authorities last week announced the government’s intention to sell the Fergana Oil Refinery LLC, the second-largest refining complex in the country. The announcement was posted on the website of the state Agency for Attracting Foreign Investments. The application process is open to all interested parties.
The Fergana oil refinery has been operating since 1959. At the moment, the complex produces 60 types of products including base oils and finished lubricants. The refinery’s base oil plant has capacity to produce 450,000 metric tons per year of API Group I base oils, according to Lubes’n’Greases’ Global Guide to Base Stock Refining.
The finished lubricant plant at the complex has capacity of 60,000 t/y and is operated by Uz-Prista, a joint venture between the Bulgarian lube maker Prista Oil and the state oil major Uzbekneftegaz. Prista did not respond to an inquiry of whether the blending plant is included in the sale. The JV also runs a base oil rerefinery in Angren, an industrial town 220 kilometers away from Fergana, capable of making 30,000 t/y Group I and Group II base oils.
The government tried before to sell the Fergana refining complex. It has also announced plans that were not fulfilled to modernize the complex. Those plans included a proposal to upgrade the base oil plant. In 2020 the refinery reported a gross profit of $54 million on sales revenue of $231 million.