Hyundai Engineering completes construction of GTL plant in Uzbekistan

Hyundai Engineering announced on the 28th that it has completed construction of GTL (Gas-to-Liquid) plant worth $2.62 billion (about 3.1 trillion won) in Uzbekistan.

Hyundai Engineering held a completion ceremony on the 25th (local time). At the ceremony, officials from the Uzbekistan government, including President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, Energy Minister Alisher Sultanov, and Korean officials, including Hyundai Engineering CEO Kim Chang-hak, attended.

'GTL' refers to a technology that chemically react natural gas to produce liquid petroleum products.

It requires high-level technological capabilities because it produces high value-added petroleum products through a chemical reaction, beyond the simple purification of natural gas.

Unlike typical oil refinery products, fuels made through the GTL process are clean fuels that have very low air pollutants such as sulfur, aromaticity (BTX), and heavy metals.

Carbon dioxide emissions of the GTL process are also half compared to coal, and 70% compared to oil.

The project which Hyundai Engineering received from a SPC (a special purpose corporation) established by Uzbek state-run oil gas corporation is build a large-scale petrochemical plant to produce high value-added petroleum products such as kerogen, and naphtha by processing natural gas in Kashkadarya province, about 400 km southwest of Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

It is the world's sixth GTL plant. Hyundai Engineering explained that the plant will help resolve Uzbekistan's chronic petrol shortage.