Uzbekistan launched its first gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in its southeastern Qashqadaryo province on Saturday.
The $3.4 billion plant, known as UzGTL, will produce 1.5 million tons a year of synthetic liquid fuels, Uzbekistan National News Agency reports.
The plant is intended to process 3.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. The natural gas will be supplied by the nearby Shurtan gas field and processing plant.
UzGTL is capable of producing 307 thousand tons of aviation kerosene, 724 thousand tons of diesel fuel, 437 thousand tons of naphtha and 53 thousand tons of liquefied gas annually.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who attended the launch ceremony, said the products of this plant will provide an annual import substitution of $500 million and the exports of $200 million.
The construction of the plant started in 2017 by a consortium of companies consisting of South Korean Hyundai Engineering Co., Ltd., Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. and Singapore-based Enter Engineering Pte. Ltd, controlled by Gazprombank. The supplier of synthesis gas production technology to the plant is the Danish Haldor Topsoe.