Energy Research Group (UKRAINE)

UKRAINE

CAPITAL: KIEV
MONETARY UNIT: HRYVNIA
REFINING CAPACITY: 1,026,259 B/CD
OIL PRODUCTION: 47,700 B/D
OIL RESERVES: 395 MILLION BBL
GAS RESERVES: 39.6 TCF

The year 2000 began with the potential to have become Ukraine's first year of economic growth since it broke from the Soviet Union, said the US EIA.
From January through April 2000 the economy expanded by 5.5%, foreign trade was projected to increase by 1.7% on the calendar year, and GDP growth was forecast as high as 2% on the calendar year.
The energy sector was still considered to be in bad need of reform. Huge debts to Russia for gas and power and illegal diversions of Russian gas had strained relations and resulted in drastic action.
Russia imposed an oil blockade on Ukraine for several months in late 1999 and early 2000, and Ukraine refused to lower its tariff for oil transiting its territory towards the West. Kazakhstan began supplying about 25,000 b/d of oil to Ukraine, but high oil prices enticed some Russian exporters to sell elsewhere oil formerly shipped to Ukraine. Ukraine was seeking other gas suppliers.
Ukraine's parliament, wanting to turn the country into an attractive transit point for Caspian Sea oil, approved construction in 1995 of an 800,000 b/d terminal at Yuzhny near Odessa. The unbuilt terminal's cost estimate had grown to $1.3 billion from $790 million. Upstream developments
Ukraine wanted to stem declines in its oil and gas production, and higher commodity prices led to several agreements during the year.
Regal Petroleum Ltd., London, and M.L. Cass Petroleum Corp., Calgary, planned to merge and further develop three gas and condensate fields near Chernigiv in the Dnieper-Donets basin 200 km east of Kiev. The fields were producing 7 MMcfd from five wells and were certified with proved and probable reserves of 906 bcf of gas and 52.2 million bbl of condensate.
Conel, Romania's national electricity company, had agreed to take the gas. The firms were to deliver as much as 75 MMcfd of gas in summer and 140 MMcfd in winter.
EuroGas Inc. and ZahidUkrGeologia drilled Taihilivske-1, Ukraine's first coalbed methane well, to 830 m on a 150 sq km concession covering the Volyn coal field near the Polish border. EuroGas said the well found indications of gas from two coal seams and associated sandstones.
Ukrainian officials said they would soon begin developing what were considered to be vast gas resources along the shelf of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.
Bellwether Exploration Co., Houston, acquired majority interest in Carpatsky Petroleum Inc. in December 1999 with rights to 1-2 tcf of gas in the Ukraine's largest gas basin. Bellwether said legal, financial, and operational issues prevented the project from being economically viable. The company considered the venture a long-term project.
Essex Resource Corp., Vancouver, decided not to exercise its option to acquire a 12% working interest in the Tatyanovskoe and Oktyabrskoe licenses in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine. Essex said it wanted to focus on its Hassi Bir Rekaiz play in Algeria. Processing activity
After several unsuccessful attempts, Ukraine began to auction stakes in its refineries.
Lukoil unit Luk Sintez Oil bought 25% more of the 56,000 b/d Odessa refinery through a stock swap valued at $2.5 million, bringing its stake to 76.9%. Luk Sintez paid about $6 million for 51.9%
of the refinery in 1999, promising to revamp it and supply it with 48,000 b/d of crude oil.
Tyumen Oil Co., Moscow, at midyear paid $9.76 million to acquire a 67.41% interest in the formerly state-owned 320,000 b/d Lisichansk (Linos) refinery in eastern Ukraine. The agreement would expand the lubricant marketing region of its partner Texaco Inc. to Ukraine.
Tyumen and Texaco expanded their relationship to include commodity risk management. They jointly marketed Texaco-branded imported lubricants and Tyumen and Texaco-branded lubricants produced and blended at the Ryazan refinery 120 miles southeast of Moscow.
Tyumen planned to modernize and expand the refinery, its first outside Russia, during 5 years. It planned to set up a sales and distribution network for Linos's products, including gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, polypropylene, ethylene, and other chemicals. It also was to sell lubricants in Ukraine through a joint venture with Texaco.
Gasoline marketing in western Ukraine was expected to benefit starting in late 2000 from a downstream alliance between Hungary's MOL Rt. and Slovakia's Slovnaft AS. Slovnaft was operating two service stations there and planned to construct more. Transportation
The government planned to end the state petroleum company's monopoly in gas purchases, transportation, and sales.
The government was working on a gas market concept under which the right to trade gas with all users in a region would be awarded in a tender and participants would have to produce property guarantees. Municipal and regional gas-transporting agencies as well as commercial companies were to be allowed to take part.
An official said that gas transportation would be unbundled from sales and that if a company providing gas failed to collect fees it would lose the right to sell gas in the particular region and, if necessary, be held accountable with its property.
The plan was a reaction to the state oil company's inability to organize an effective system of gas supplies and collection of fees for delivered gas.

Source: http://www.pennwellpetroleumgroup.com/articles/ipe_print_toc.cfm?volume_num=2001

Energy Research Group (GEORGIA)

GEORGIA

CAPITAL: TBILISI
MONETARY UNIT: LARI
REFINING CAPACITY: 106,436 B/CD
OIL PRODUCTION: 2,000 B/D
OIL RESERVES: 35 MILLION BBL
GAS RESERVES: 300 BCF

Energy problems of several kinds challenged Georgia's emergence from the former Soviet bloc.
Chronic power shortages plagued the country, which in 2000 generated enough electric power to fill only about half of its estimated demand of 40-45 million kw-hr/day. Hydroelectric accounted for 80% of Georgian power generation. About 100 billion kw of potential hydro energy was untapped.
Georgia had minor oil and gas production and reserves but was taking steps to increase all categories. The country lies at a pipeline crossroads for the westward transportation of oil and gas from the resource-rich Caspian Sea region. And it was improving its refineries.
Georgian officials said a lack of funds for repairs and fuel for power stations caused the outages. President Eduard Shevardnadze promised that service would improve.
Georgia became independent with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and suffered economic woes aggravated by civil unrest and conflicts with separatist rebels in two regions.
There were calls for the republic to connect its electrical grid to Russia's, but such a move would be politically awkward for the westward-looking Shevardnadze, who had tried to steer Georgia away from depending on its giant neighbor. Upstream developments
Georgia's state Saknavtobi (Georgian Oil) licensed blocks to several western joint ventures and was pursuing limited exploration.
Saknavtobi and the German company GWDF International were to sign an agreement establishing an oil prospecting partnership in late 2000. The project
also involved developing fields in western Georgia at Chaladidi, Supsa, and Shromisubani. The German company was to invest $3 million/year in exploration.
Georgia was to own 70% of any oil produced, while the German company would get 30%. Work was to start by yearend 2000.
Frontera Resources Corp., Houston, garnered a $50 million loan from European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). It was the second phase of a $60 million package initiated in June for development of Kursange and Karabagli oil fields in Azerbaijan and Block 12 in eastern Georgia.
Frontera began operating in Georgia in the mid-1990s and moved into Azerbaijan in 1999, following the Kura basin play from eastern Georgia into offshore Azerbaijan. In the process, it helped assemble the largest onshore acreage position in the Caucasus region, more than 1.4 million acres.
Block 12 in eastern Georgia includes 1.3 million acres with seven known fields and numerous exploration prospects. Included is Taribani field, the first of Frontera's development projects, which contains gross unrisked reserves estimated at 1 billion bbl of oil equivalent.
Frontera had 100% of the foreign company operating interest in a production sharing agreement in partnership with Saknavtobi.
CanArgo Energy Corp., London, was attempting to rehabilitate and further develop Ninotsminda oil field 40 km east of Tbilisi.
Ninotsminda produces 41° gravity crude from Middle Eocene fractured volcanics at 2,600-3,000 m. It is 10 km west of Samgori, the Georgian field with highest cumulative production at 180 million bbl.
The field averaged 1,416 b/d in the first 9 months of 2000, of which CanArgo's share was 709 b/d. It made 5 MMcfd of gas, including 3.3 MMcfd to CanArgo. Some gas was flared.
The N97 exploratory well, aimed at gas postulated in Cretaceous at 4,000 m, unexpectedly discovered gas and oil in Sarmatian (Upper Miocene) and Upper Eocene at 1,960-2,100 m and had mechanical problems. TD was 2,249 m. The N98H well stabilized at 220 b/d and 750 Mcfd of gas on an 8 mm choke with 765 psi flowing tubing pressure from a 350 m horizontal leg in Middle Eocene.
Interruptions of power from the Georgian grid delayed field operations. CanArgo signed an agreement with AES Gardabani, a unit of AES Corp., Arlington, Va. AES Gardabani owned two units of the privatized Gardabani thermal power plant, and another AES Georgian unit owned the Tbilisi power grid. AES Gardabani was to participate and partly fund CanArgo's deep Cretaceous gas program at Ninotsminda. Processing activity
Georgia's hub location for crude oil transport helped it attract considerable foreign investor interest in its refining sector.
The country's two refineries are a 106,000 b/d plant at Batumi on the Black Sea coast and the 4,000 b/d Georgian American Oil Refinery at Sartichala east of Tbilisi.
The Sartichala refinery was idle from May 2000 after Georgia's Parliament banned imports of its feedstock, pyrolysed tar. Shevardnadze demanded a quick restart for the plant, noting that Georgia could expect oil production to rise shortly. Processing local crude abroad was unacceptable, he said.
CanArgo increased its interest in the Sartichala plant to 51% in November 2000. CanArgo acquired 12.9% interest in the refinery in 1998 by financing a doubling of capacity to 4,000 b/d. The refinery produces fuel oil, diesel, and low-octane gasoline. With acquisition of the further interest, it planned to add a reformer to add high octane gasoline to the product slate.
The Batumi plant runs mainly Russian and Azeri crudes. In 2000 it was running substantially below capacity due to a lack of oil supplies, but the situation was to change with the reconstruction and conversion of the 232-km Khashuri-Batumi oil products pipeline, expected on line in 2001.
The Chevron-financed $70 million project would permit the transport of 100,000 b/d of Kazakh oil to Batumi and free up rail routes that had been used to ship Chevron's Kazakh oil from Tengiz field. Some oil was likely to be supplied by rail to the refinery from other Kazakh sources and from Azerbaijan.
Mitsui & Co. Ltd., Tokyo, was responsible for modernizing the Batumi refinery at a cost of $250 million. Mitsui undertook the work without Georgian government guarantees of its investment. Marubeni Corp. and JGC Corp., both based in Tokyo, dropped out of the project because of a failure to obtain such guarantees. The revamped, more-efficient plant at Batumi was to process 50,000 b/d of crude, double preproject rates.
Mitsui had an interest in the Agip SPA-operated Kyurdashi block in Azerbaijan. If oil were found there in commercial quantities, Mitsui was likely to process some of its share in Batumi.
Georgia might get a new $400 million refinery in Supsa. Plans included an initial capacity of 60,000 b/d, ramping up in phases to 240,000 b/d. Azerbaijan's state oil company, SOCAR, could become an interest-holder.
A refinery at Supsa would receive oil shipments through the existing Baku-Supsa pipeline. The pipeline was expected to transport 120,000 b/d of oil in 2000 from Azerbaijan's AIOC (Azerbaijan International Operating Co.) development, and future volumes transported by this route could increase.
Itochu Corp., which would like to refine its equity-crude production from Azerbaijan in a refinery at Supsa, said it intended to be a participant in this project.

Source: http://www.pennwellpetroleumgroup.com/articles/ipe_print_toc.cfm?volume_num=2001

Energy Research Group (ARMENIA)

ARMENIA

CAPITAL: YEREVAN
MONETARY UNIT: DRAM
REFINING CAPACITY: NONE
OIL PRODUCTION: NONE
OIL RESERVES: NONE
GAS RESERVES: NONE

Armenia, with a population of 3.5 million, trades mostly with Russia, Turkmenistan, the European Union, and the US.
Energy consumption averages about 5,000 b/d of oil and 49 bcf/year of natural gas, plus an uncertain quantity of electricity.
Some wildcat drilling had occurred, all unsuccessful through 2000. Armenian American Exploration Co. spudded Azat 1 near Garni east of Yerevan on Nov. 27, 1997. It was temporarily abandoned at 3,500 m after encountering minor oil traces.
Drilling cost far exceeded the $10 million minimum expenditure of the 5-year term of the production sharing agreement, hurling AAEC into bankruptcy. The company maintained an office in Yerevan through late 2000 and still hoped to resume operations.
The 106,436 b/d Batumi refinery in Georgia Republic supplied most of Armenia's petroleum products. Armenia in 2000 had no products pipelines, so the shipments moved by truck and rail. Most of Armenia's gas came from Turkmenistan via Russian and Georgian pipelines.
Ethnic and civil disturbances, pipeline accidents, and nonpayment of debts halted gas supplies intermittently. In April 2000 gas shipments, although quickly resumed, were interrupted because of a dispute over payments.
Armrosgazprom, a company owned by the government, Gazprom, and the private Itera Co., handled all gas distribution in Armenia, but the country was looking at the feasibility of diversifying supply.
Iran in particular expected excess gas supply capability to build up from its growing exploration and development activities and suggested construction of pipelines to several countries including Armenia.
Financing had not been obtained by late 2000, but Armenia was seeking funds from the World Bank for such a pipeline and had met with officials regarding Greek participation in the project.

Source: http://www.pennwellpetroleumgroup.com/articles/ipe_print_toc.cfm?volume_num=2001

Energy Research Group (TAJIKISTAN)

TAJIKISTAN

CAPITAL: DUSHANBE
MONETARY UNIT: TAJIK RUBLE
REFINING CAPACITY: NONE
OIL PRODUCTION: 1,000 B/D
OIL RESERVES: 12 MILLION BBL
GAS RESERVES: 200 BCF

Tajik officials held talks in mid-2000 with Iranian officials about possible Iranian assistance for Tajikistan's oil sector.
The former Soviet republic imported almost all of the 29,000 b/d of petroleum products and 40 bcfd of gas that it consumed, mostly from Uzbekistan.
Tajikistan conducted successful drilling for natural gas in 2000 in the southern Khatlon region, but no details were available, the US Energy Information Administration disclosed. This followed the drilling of two wildcats in 1999.
As of the late 1980s Tajikistan had nine oil, oil and gas, and gas and condensate fields in the Fergana basin bordering Uzbekistan and several identified fields in the Afghan-Tadzhik sub-basin north of Afghanistan.

Source: http://www.pennwellpetroleumgroup.com/articles/ipe_print_toc.cfm?volume_num=2001

Energy Research Group (KYRGYZSTAN)

KYRGYZSTAN

CAPITAL: BISHKEK
MONETARY UNIT: SOM
REFINING CAPACITY: 10,000 B/CD
OIL PRODUCTION: 1,000 B/D
OIL RESERVES: 40 MILLION BBL
GAS RESERVES: 200 BCF

Kyrgyzstan has significant undeveloped hydroelectric potential and limited oil and gas reserves. Imports provide most of its energy.
State Kyrgyzneftegaz operates some 400 wells in seven fields capable of producing oil or gas and has 2,000 employees.
Undiscovered resources in the republic's part of the Fergana basin are estimated by the US Geological Survey at 840 million bbl of oil and 660 bcf of gas and by the World Bank at 2.8 billion bbl of oil and 10.8 tcf of gas.
Kyrgyz Petroleum Co., owned 50-50 by Kyrgyzneftegaz and Kyrgoil Corp., Calgary, holds the exclusive right to complete, recomplete, and rework producing and nonproducing wells and drill new wells in 12 defined license areas in the Fergana basin in western Kyrgyzstan. The license areas cover a combined 1.6 million acres.
Kyrgoil said incremental oil production from the workover and refracturing of 20 oil wells in Mayli-Su IV field declined from an initial 150 b/d to 39 b/d in 1999. Oil field activity in 1999 was limited to maintenance of the 20 wells previously fractured. This field was discovered in 1948.
Kyrgyzstan was the site of the drilling in 1999 of a single exploratory well, by a local group, outcome uncertain.
The republic imports gas through the Bukhara-Tashkent-Bishkek-Almaty pipeline. The southern part of Kyrgyzstan receives gas from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
KPC's 10,000 b/d refinery at Dzhalal-Abad in the southern part of the republic was built by Petrofac International Ltd. and started up in 1996. It produces A-76 leaded gasoline, A-80 unleaded gasoline, diesel, and fuel oil.
At year-end 1999, Petrofac, renamed Petrofac Resources International Ltd., owned 46% of Kyrgoil, and the refinery was considered collateral for Kyrgoil debt to Petrofac.
The refinery was designed to process typical Kyrgyz 30° sweet crude. Because domestic production is low, KPC imports condensate and naphtha from neighboring countries. Throughput averaged 3,366 b/d in 1999.

Source: http://www.pennwellpetroleumgroup.com/articles/ipe_print_toc.cfm?volume_num=2001

Energy Research Group (TURKMENISTAN)

TURKMENISTAN

CAPITAL: ASHGABAT
MONETARY UNIT: MANAT
REFINING CAPACITY: 236,970 B/CD
OIL PRODUCTION: 143,000 B/D
OIL RESERVES: 546 MILLION BBL
NATURAL GAS RESERVES: 101 TCF

Growing sales of natural gas to Iran and Russia boosted Turkmenistan's economy to its first recovery since the republic became independent from the former Soviet Union.
At midyear 2000 the country looked toward real GDP growth of 6% for the year. Oil and gas anchor the country's economy.
Establishment of maritime borders in the Caspian Sea were the subject of dispute since the mid-1990s between Turkmenistan and Iran, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Russia. Of particular interest to Turkmenistan was division of a sizable oil and gas field, called Kyapaz by Azerbaijan and Serdar by Turkmenistan. The disputes delayed development of the 360 million bbl field.
Turkmen officials pointed out that the five countries were going about business in areas indisputably their own and negotiating when disagreements arose in areas where ownership was less clear.
Government action in 1998 resulted in setup of five state oil and gas concerns. They are:
Turkmenrozgaz, responsible for gas exports through Russia.
Turkmenneftgaz, responsible for oil and gas marketing.
Turkmengeologia, responsible for exploration.
Turkmenneft, responsible for oil production.
Turkmenneftgazstroi, responsible for oil and gas-related construction. Upstream developments
Turkmenistan began seeking tenders for exploration and production in the Caspian Sea, and Western Geophysical offered 16,000 line-km of 2D seismic data acquired in 1996-98.
The package included 3,500 line-km of transition zone and land well tie data. Geophysicists with Minneft, Turkmenneft, Turkmengeologia, and Western were interpreting the data.
The package included cross sections showing well log correlation between the Fersman 1, Livanov 12, Livanov 6, Ogurch 1-2, West Ordekli 1, West Ordekli 2, and Chodgaluviev 2 wells.
Canneft Inc., Calgary, signed an agreement in mid-2000 with Turkmengeologia in Ashgabat to evaluate the Adzhiyap oil and natural gas territory, a 2,000 sq km block in southwest Turkmenistan on the border with Iran and along the Caspian Sea coast.
Canneft and Turkmengeologia were to conduct a joint technical evaluation of the Adzhiyap territory during 6 months and were to negotiate for an exploration license.
The technical evaluation would concentrate on the reprocessing of 2,500 km of 2D seismic data, detailed geologic investigation, and infrastructure evaluation.
Canneft said the Adzhiyap territory was a "natural extension" of oil and gas fields contiguous to the block. The company postulated block reserves at 1-3 tcf of gas.
The existing gas pipeline in the Adzhiyap territory and access to the Caspian Sea mitigated the marketing risk, said Canneft.
The Soviet Union was trying to attract foreign investment to Adzhiyap territory even before Turkmenistan became independent.
Another upstream joint venture, Dragon Oil PLC, London, was about to spud the first of three wells at Lam field in the Cheleken Contract Area in the eastern Caspian Sea.
Dragon, almost 70% owned by Emirates National Oil Co. since late 1998, operated a 235,000-acre concession including Lam and Zhdanov fields in 10-30 m of water near the Cheleken Peninsula. The fields produced 8,000 b/d of oil and 1 million cu m/day of gas from 19 wells.
Only 6% of original proved and probable reserves had been produced. Dragon said expansion of production to 80,000 b/d was possible with full field development.
The 25-year contract took effect May 1, 2000. Dragon signed a crude oil swap contract with Naftiran Intertrade Co. Ltd. under which Dragon would ship Turkmen crude to Neka, Iran, and in return receive equivalent barrels at Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf. The swap fee was $17/tonne.
Foreign Minister Boris Shikhmuradov said Turkmenistan wanted to hike oil and gas production to 3 tcf/year and 204 million bbl/year in 2005 from 800 bcf/year and 51 million bbl/year in 1999. Processing activity
Turkmenistan's two refineries are at Chardzou in northeastern Turkmenistan (120,000 b/d) and at Turkmenbashi on the Caspian Sea (116,000 b/d).
Combined throughput was 90,000 b/d in 1999, but the government intended that runs increase to 132,000 b/d in 2000.
A $1.3 billion modernization project was under way at the Turkmenbashi refinery. It included installation of a 1.8 million tonne/year (tpy) catalytic cracker and a 750,000 tpy catalytic reforming unit. The upgrade included a 1.8 million tpy alkylation unit, an 80,000 tpy lubricants unit, and a 90,000 tpy polypropylene unit.
Gent Oil of the UK began work in late 2000 on a $10.6 million desalination facility and a steam furnace, and Emerol Ltd. of Ireland was rebuilding the vacuum unit and adding storage facilities. Transporting Turkmen gas
Turkmenistan reached agreement early in the year to boost gas exports to Iran to 460 bcf/year. The increase was to take effect by yearend 2000. The price was to be $40/cu m.
Shikhmuradov termed the deal a huge increase, claiming that volumes averaged only 70 bcf/year in 1999. A new compressor station to be finished in April 2000 was to boost capacity of the 125-mile pipeline to 460 bcf/year.
Separately, a project to construct a Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline was developed around a gas sales agreement signed in May 1999 between Turkmenistan and Turkey for delivery of as much as 16 bcf/year of Turkmenistan gas via Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey from 2003.
The 1,650 km single-pipe system would originate at the Pustynnaya compressor station in eastern Turkmenistan and involve dual 300 km, 28-in. or larger segments across the Caspian Sea.
The pipeline proponents recognized that gas finds made in Azerbaijan in 1999 changed the supply balance. Alternatives were under study.
Discovery of large gas reserves at Shah Deniz field in the Caspian off Azerbaijan complicated the trans-Caspian route plan.
For Turkmenistan, with its huge and unused gas export potential, the Turkish market represents the sole viable export option, at least in the short term. Iran and Russia were also competing to ship gas to Turkey, and the combined supply offers far exceeded Turkey's projected gas demand for 2001-2010.
Furthermore, Turkmenistan is farther from Turkey than Azerbaijan, and a trans-Caspian line would have to cross Azeri territory.

Source: http://www.pennwellpetroleumgroup.com/articles/ipe_print_toc.cfm?volume_num=2001

Energy Research Group (UZBEKISTAN)

UZBEKISTAN

CAPITAL: TASHKENT
MONETARY UNIT: SOUM
REFINING CAPACITY: 222,271 B/CD
OIL PRODUCTION: 152,000 B/D
OIL RESERVES: 594 MILLION BBL
GAS RESERVES: 66.2 TCF

Uzbekistan's cumulative foreign investment since becoming an independent state reached $400 million in 1998, far less than that of its neighbors Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, a US government source said.
Seventeen US companies, including Unocal and Enron, had ceased operations in Uzbekistan through 2000, largely because of the country's less-open and less market-sensitive fiscal policies. The exodus was continuing even though state Uzbekneftegaz said the country's gas reserves ranked among the world's 15 largest.
Uzbekistan's five main oil regions are, from west to east, Ustyurt, Bukharo-Khivin, Southwest Gissar, Surkhan-Dar'ya, and Fergana.
The country has about 160 known fields, 60% of which are in Bukharo-Khivin and 20% in Fergana. Uzbekneftegaz, with budgets of $182 million in 1999 and $166 million in 2000, accounted for most of the drilling.
During 2000 Uzbekneftegaz invited investors to further develop eight of its producing oil and gas fields requiring total outlays of $242 million. North Shurtan, South Kyzylbairak, and Shakarbulak together produced 646,000 tonnes/year of oil. South Tandyrcha, Gumbulak, and Dzharkuduk produced 2.5 bcm/year of gas and 90,000 tonnes/year of condensate.
Uzbekneftegaz said $25 million in investments would be needed at Umid and South Kemachi fields in order to boost output to 100,000 tonnes/year of oil, 30,000 tonnes/year of condensate, and 2 billion cu m/year of gas. It did not mention current production levels.
Also needed were a $45 million gas compressor station at Gaz and a $20 million plant to utilize flared gas at Kokdumalak field.
Company Chairman Ibrat Zainutdinov said Uzbekistan would sell 49% of its shares to foreign investors and sell stock in its other petroleum companies-Uzneftegazdobycha, Uzneftepererabotka, and Uzburneftegaz. Processing activity
The Karaoul Bazar refinery 33 miles east of Bukhara started up in 1997, helping Uzbekistan achieve self-sufficiency in petroleum products.
The $400 million, 50,000 b/d refinery processed condensate produced at Kokdumalak field 55 miles away. Kokdumalak field produced 70% of the country's crude and condensate.
Before independence Uzbekistan's two refineries in Fergana (106,000 b/d) and Alty-Arik (66,000 b/d) relied on crude from a pipeline that originated in Omsk, western Siberia, and delivered oil to Uzbekistan by way of Chardzou, Turkmenistan. By 1995, these crude imports were largely eliminated.
The Bukhara refinery has units for atmospheric distillation, naphtha hydrodesulfurization, gas oil hydrodesulfurization, kerosine sweetening, regenerative reforming, sour-water treatment, and sulfur recovery. It also has a gas plant, one control station, and two electricity substations.
In 2000 it produced gasoline for export as well as gasoline, diesel, and kerosine for the domestic market. The Uzbekistan government planned to double the refinery's capacity.
In 1997, Mitsui and Toyo Engineering Corp. undertook a $200 million desulfurization capacity expansion project at the Fergana refinery to permit the production of low-sulfur diesel. Texaco was involved in a joint venture to produce and market Texaco-branded lubricants from the Fergana refinery.
The Alty Arik refinery needed to be mothballed or rebuilt.
Most of the country's gas, which is high in sulfur, is routed through the 2.7 bcfd Mubarek gas processing and treatment plant. ABB Lummus was to have completed construction of the $1 billion Shurtan petrochemical plant by year-end 2000. ..

Source: http://www.pennwellpetroleumgroup.com/articles/ipe_print_toc.cfm?volume_num=2001