Prista Oil Group of Bulgaria and Uznefteprodukt of Uzbekistan recently agreed to a joint venture for processing industrial waste lubes into base oil, the Uzbek oil major said on Monday.
Construction of the 43,000 tons per year base oil rerefinery has already begun, Rustam Sobirhonovich, Uznefteprodukts chief engineer, told Lube Report. We expect the plant to be operational in the summer of 2013.
The $16 million (U.S.) joint venture comprises two companies that will operate in the Angren industrial park located near Uzbekistans capital of Tashkent.
The first, Uz-Ecoprotect, was founded with $1 million of authorized capital, and will collect, store and transport used industrial oils, Sobirhanovich said.
Uz-Prista Recycling, the JVs second company, was created with $15 million of authorized capital to rerefine collected waste lubes and produce base oils. Sobirhanovich was unable to confirm what quality base oil the rerefinery would produce because the project is still in its early phase.
Under the deal, Uznefteprodukt holds a 49 percent share of the enterprise, while Prista Oils has a controlling stake of 51 percent.
Uz-Prista Recycling is obligated to finance supply and assembly of the equipment necessary to process used industrial oils, according to an Uzbek government decision. The government commission for property management recently cleared Uz-Prista Recycling to use lease-free facilities on a three-hectare lot located in Angren that was previously owned by former chemicals producer Rezinotehnika.
Prista Recycling, a recently created branch of Prista Oil Group, is tasked with establishing base oil rerefining in Central Asia, where it sees a great potential for growth. Local media reported the company was seeking opportunities at an April investment oil and gas conference in Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, to establish a rerefinery in the region.
As part of its Central Asia expansion, Prista Oil last year bought U.S. oil major Chevrons controlling stake in Uz-Texaco in Uzbekistan, where in October 2011, it started to produce mineral, synthetic and semi-synthetic lubricants, as well as antifreeze.
Uznefteprodukt is part of the state-owned energy giant, Uzbekneftegaz. It operates the companys assets for oil production and for petrochemicals supply. It controls the fuel refinery in Bukhara, a city located in southern Uzbekistan, and the Fergana refinery, which can produce 200,000 t/y of API Group I base oils. It also operates 66 petroleum storage depots, with 1.2 million cubic meters of storage capacity and 97 petrol stations.