Uzbekistan's Bukhara oil refinery to be modernised for $328 million

Uzbekistan's Bukhara oil refinery is set to be modernised under a project worth $328 million, which was presented to the head of state. According to Kun.uz, the plant produced 1.36 million tonnes of petroleum products worth 12.1 trillion soums in the first nine months of this year. Exports of products and services reached $99.5 million, and the plant plans to raise this figure to $116 million by year-end.

The project aims to increase the volume of raw material processing and expand the production of high-octane gasoline. It will install hydrotreating and isomerisation units for naphtha. Hydrotreating reduces sulphur and other impurities in the feedstock, while isomerisation raises the octane number of gasoline obtained from light fractions. These processes are described as important for producing AI-92 and AI-95 gasoline that meets Euro-5 standards.

The project also provides for separating feedstock into fractions and deeper processing of heavy residues. As a result, 2.5 million tonnes will be added to the annual processing capacity, bringing the total to 5 million tonnes. The President instructed that the modernisation be completed on time and to a high standard, and met with representatives of the foreign companies involved in the project.