16 Aug 2022 10:03

SOCAR might participate in chemical projects in Uzbekistan totaling $2.7 bln

BAKU. Aug 16 (Interfax) - State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) plans to participate in chemical projects in Uzbekistan that will cost a total of $2.7 billion.

An agreement has been reached on SOCAR's participation in a project to set up production of propylene from methanol in Uzbekistan's Navoi region that will cost $1.3 billion, Azerbaijan's ambassador to Uzbekistan, Huseyn Guliyev said in an interview on vergiler.az, the publication of Azerbaijan's State Tax Service.

SOCAR has also agreed to participate in the second and third phases of the construction of a facility to produce PVC and caustic soda in the Kungrad region in the Karakalpakstan autonomous republic, which will cost $1.28 billion, he said.

There are also plans for joint production of acetic acid with Navoiazot under a project that will cost $120 million. Azerbaijan is expecting information on the project from Uzkimyosanoat by September, including the financial model and feasibility study, Guliyev said.

The energy ministries of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan plan to sign a roadmap in September for expanding cooperation and implementing new projects in the area of green energy, he added.

SOCAR has worked with partners in Uzbekistan before. In May 2019, BP Exploration, SOCAR and Uzbekneftegaz signed an agreement on joint studies to assess the potential of three investment blocks in Uzbekistan's Ustyurt region, in the country's sector of the Aral Sea, the Samsko-Kosbulak and Baiterek blocks. In July 2022, SOCAR and Uzbekneftegaz agreed to expand cooperation in the oil and gas sector and signed a road map to this effect.

It was also reported earlier that SOCAR and Uzbekneftegaz plan to open a trading division in the United Arab Emirates.