GAIL to set up 1-lk tpa capacity LPG plant in Uzbek

Mumbai, May 8: The state owned gas transporter, GAIL (India) Ltd will set up LPG plants of capacity 1 lakh tones per annum each in the western parts of Uzbekistan along with Uzbekneftegaz.

Announcing this, the company said its estimated capital investment in each LPG plant will be US $ 50-60 million. These multiple gas based LPG plants will produce LPG predominantly for the domestic market of Uzbekistan.

To this extent, GAIL(India) and Uzbekneftegaz have signed Memorandum of Cooperation Agreement (MoC) during the recent visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Uzbekistan. The MoC was signed by the Indian Ambassador on behalf of GAIL and Chairman, Uzbekneftegaz Mr. Abdusalom Azizov on behalf of Uzbekneftegaz.

Under the MoC, the two companies will jointly pursue gas sector projects covering exploration and production, gas processing, production of petrochemicals as well as training. GAIL and Uzbekneftegaz had held preliminary discussions in early March, 2006 on these specific project opportunities.

With the signing of the MoC, a Joint Working Group will be set up.

Detailed discussions for setting up of LPG plants are expected to be held during the first meeting of the Joint Working Group this month.

Uzbekneftegaz will also provide details of the specific project opportunities in E&P in Uzbekistan during this meeting.

Preliminary discussions on E&P opportunities have already been held between the two companies.

UzbeknefteGaz [UNG], is the state-owned holding company formed in 1998 when the Government of Uzbekistan merged nine companies in the oil and gas sector. As a natural gas major, UNG had been responsible for international cooperation in Uzbekistan. The other key business operations of this company are gas processing, petrochemicals, refining, pipelines and marketing of hydrocarbon products.

UNG's ranks eighth in the world in gas production and employs about 80,000 people. It has total pipelines network of more than 13,000 Kms. As a holding company, UNG has a number of foreign collaborators like Gazprom&Lukoil [Russia], Kellogg, BSI&ABB Lummus Global [USA], Nova Chemicals [Canada], Toyo, Mitsui, Marubeni&Nisho Ivai [Japan], Technip [France], That-xa&Dunshen [China]&Petronas [Malaysia].

As a part of its globalization programme, GAIL has already taken equity participation in three retail gas companies in Egypt i.e Fayum Gas Company, NATGAS and Shell CNG, Egypt and acquired 7.5 per cent equity in China Gas Holdings in China. It has participating interest in 2 offshore blocks in Myanmar and one onland block in Oman.

UNI