French company Axens will help modernize the Bukhara oil refinery, according to the press service of Uzbekneftegaz, which owns the BNPP.
At the beginning of the year, the President of Uzbekistan instructed Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov to address the issue of definitively phasing out A-80 gasoline by 2025.
According to Uzbekneftegaz, the modernization of the Bukhara refinery will involve the production of high-octane grades of A-92 and A-95 gasoline in the proportions of 60% and 40% respectively. All gasoline produced, exceeding 1 million tons per year (initially planned at 1.2 million tons), will comply with the Euro-5 environmental standard, allowing the discontinuation of the production of Euro-2 class A-80, as stated in the announcement.
The project is planned to be implemented in 2024-2025 under the Fast-Track mode with simultaneous design and construction.
Axens will design the technological installations, including a 360 thousand tons per year capacity crude oil hydro-treatment unit, a 380 thousand tons per year isomerization unit, and a 60 thousand tons per year selective hydrotreating unit for pyrolysis distillate.
Agreements have been reached with the French company for a licensing agreement to use Axens technologies, including staff training and the development of project documentation, which is expected to take about 5.5 months.
The potential general contractor for the project is the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation, which will modernize the Bukhara refinery over a two-year period. They are also being considered for the construction of underground gas storage facilities.
The three-stage modernization of the plant, costing $553 million, began in 2019. The project, developed by South Korean SK Engineering, aimed to achieve the designed capacity for processing 2.5 million tons of oil and gas condensate and producing 1.2 million tons of Euro-5 standard gasoline, 200 thousand tons of aviation kerosene, 750 thousand tons of diesel fuel, and 30 thousand tons of mazut annually by the end of 2025.
Axens has previously collaborated with Uzbekneftegaz on other projects. For instance, in 2020, the production of Euro-4 and Euro-5 standard diesel fuel was launched at the Bukhara refinery thanks to the technology of the French company.
