The agency reported quoting Uzbekneftegaz source that the US companies will hand over technologies on launching production of polypropylene and polyethylene on the base of Ustyurt Gas-Chemical Complex.

The source said that currently, the tender is underway to determine contractors for construction of technological zones of the complex.

According to estimates, the tender results will be summed up in April-May 2010. The construction of the Ustyurt Gas-Chemical Complex will be launched in the second half of 2011.

In February 2008, Uzbekneftegaz and South Korean consortium created a joint venture UzKorGasChemical for construction of the Ustyurt Gas-Chemical Complex on the base of Surgil deposit. The consortium included Kogass, Lotte Daesan Petrochemical Corp. (in 2009, it was replaced with Honam Petrochemical), LG International Corp., SK Gas and STX Energy. The preliminary project cost was US$1.85 billion. Later, its cost was revised to US$2.4 billion. According to latest estimates, the project cost is US$3.3 billion.

In 2009, Samsung Engineering (South Korea) and Uzbekneftegaz’s UzLITIneftegaz developed preliminary feasibility study of technological part of the project, which envisaged construction of the comlex with the capacity of 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas and production of 400,000 polyethylene and 100,000 tonnes of polypropylene.

The project will be financed due to foreign investments and loans, attracted by the Korean companies, at the volume of US$1.694 billion, own resources of Uzbekneftegaz – US$1.21 billion and the loan of Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan – US$350 million.

Currently, Uzbekneftegaz is conducting gas-field construction of Surgil field with its own forces. The field will annually supply 3 billion cubic meters of gas to the Ustyurt Gas-Chemical Complex. Another 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas will be supplied to the complex from other fields in Ustyurt region.

Surgil field was opened three years ago and now it is developed by Uzbekneftegaz. Its reserves, according to the Uzbek side, make up about 120 billion cubic meters of gas.