Business

Thursday April 9, 2009

Petronas signs accord with two firms on Uzbek project


KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas has signed a heads of agreement with Uzbekneftegaz (UNG) and Sasol Ltd of South Africa to develop the Uzbekistan gas-to-liquids (GTL) project.

The partners are currently in negotiations with the Uzbekistan government on the detailed requirements of the project and plan to proceed with the implementation of the next phase of the project.

The negotiations would also include setting up a joint-venture company, Petronas said in a statement yesterday.

It said the partnership would further enhance its presence in Uzbekistan’s oil and gas sector, as Petronas was already involved in some upstream ventures in the central Asian nation.

Among the projects are development and production of Urga, Kuanish and Ackhalak group of oil fields via the Urga production-sharing agreement and exploration of oil blocks in the Uzbekistan part of the Aral Sea and Surkhansi and Baisun Investment Blocks.

Petronas also said it was currently undertaking a joint study with UNG, Uzbekistan’s national oil and gas company, for cooperation in the development of downstream petrochemical projects in Uzbekistan.

The proposed plant could be bigger than Sasol’s Qatar facility, the largest such plant in the world, Lean Strauss, a general manager at Johannesburg-based Sasol, said in a speech on March 9, a Bloomberg report said.

Uzbekistan will soon become a net oil importer, boosting the need for local fuel production, Strauss said. The country has 61.6 trillion cu ft of gas reserves, according to BP Plcs Statistical Review of World Energy June 2008.

The Uzbekistan plant could produce as much as 40,000 barrels a day of transport fuels and would need about 3 trillion cubic feet of gas, Strauss said.

The Qatari plant, in which Sasol has a 49% stake, has the capacity to produce 34,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. — Agencies

Petronas planned to invest more than US$750mil in oil and gas projects in Uzbekistan, Interfax reported in November, citing Uzbek President Islam Karimov. — Agencies

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