Uzbekistan Seeks to Develop Shale Oil Reserves

Uzbekistan announced plans for the construction of two oil shale processing plants, which would be positioned in the central Navoi region and on the Sangruntau deposit , extracting both synthetic shale gas and crude oil  Oil shale is a sedimentary rock, rich in kerogen, from which liquid hydrocarbons can be extracted.

Uzbekistan has an estimated 47 billion tons of oil shale deposits and the state national holding company, Uzbekneftgaz, plans to establish a $600 million joint-venture project that will convert the oil shale into petroleum products.

Production is predicted to start by 2013, with an annual capacity of one million tons of liquid hydrocarbons.  Japanese and South Korean corporations, in partnership with the Tashkent government, will develop the new reserves, along with Atomenergoproekt Institute, the Japan Oil, Gas & Metals National Corporation, , and a number of Korean firms also participating in the project.

Source: Move One Inc.