The opening of the first waste oil rerefinery in Central Asia has been delayed for administrative reasons, Bulgarian lube maker Prista Oil told Lube Report Asia last week.
The U.S. $15 million waste oil rerefining project, a joint venture between Prista Oil Group and Uznefteproduct, was announced in mid-2012. Back then, an Uznefteproduct official said the project was expected to start up by the summer of 2013.
This past May Prista said it was installing equipment and anticipating the plant to commence in October. This time the delay is due to administrative reasons.
The construction is progressing at a satisfactory pace, a project official, who asked not to be identified, said last week. At this stage it is difficult to predict the exact opening date. But commissioning is not expected earlier than April 2015.
The Uzbek plant is located in the Angren industrial park near the Uzbekistans capital of Tashkent. The plant has capacity to process 45,000 metric tons of used oil annually and to produce 30,000 tons per year of API Group I and Group II base oils using India-based Sequoias vacuum distillation and hydrofinishing licensed technology.
The joint venture consists of two companies. Uz-Ecoprotect will collect, store and transport used industrial oils. Uz-Prista Recycling will operate the plant and produce base oil. Uznefteprodukt holds a 49 percent share of the combined enterprise, while Prista Oil has a controlling stake of 51 percent.
Uznefteprodukt is part of the state-owned energy giant Uzbekneftegaz. Prista owns a share in another joint venture with Uzbekneftegaz, a blending plant acquired from Chevron in 2011.
Prista Recycling, part of Prista Oil Group, aims to establish a base oil rerefining in Russia, Ukraine and Central Asia. Recently it looked at an opportunity to open a rerefinery in Vietnam, the company said.