Uzbekistan eyes gas-driven downstream growth
New investment in gas-to-chemicals capacity could add value to an economy hobbled by declining Chinese import appetite
Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh Petroleum has firmed up plans to invest in a new state-of-the-art gas-to-chemicals complex, providing a welcome boost to the central Asian nation’s economic prospects in a year that has seen plunging gas exports to China. The joint venture between NOC Uzbekneftegaz and a subsidiary of Russia’s Gazprom will build a 500,000t/yr capacity olefins plant, based on methanol-to-olefins (MTO) technology. It will process 1.5bn m³/yr of gas and manufacture high-quality polymers—supplying products to textile, processing, automotive, pharmaceutical and other industries. The facility is scheduled to start up in 2025 and will focus on production of low-density polyethylene, ethylene-vi
Also in this section
4 December 2025
Time is running out for Lukoil and Rosneft to divest international assets that will be mostly rendered useless to them when the US sanctions deadline arrives in mid-December
3 December 2025
Aramco’s pursuit of $30b in US gas partnerships marks a strategic pivot. The US gains capital and certainty; Saudi Arabia gains access, flexibility and a new export future
2 December 2025
The interplay between OPEC+, China and the US will define oil markets throughout 2026
1 December 2025
The North African producer’s first bidding round in almost two decades is an important milestone but the recent extension suggests a degree of trepidation
