A consortium of investors plans to develop Uzbekistan’s “25 Years of Independence” gas field in the southern part of the country.

The first of two stages will begin 2017-18 with the drilling of a ‘confirmation well’ and developing a feasibility study on expected reserves.

The second stage will include field development, geological exploration and the construction of a gas conversion facility and chemical complex to produce high-value-added products.

The gas field will become a raw-material base for the gas chemical complex, producing polyethylene, polypropylene and sulphur, later expanding to include olefins (ethylene glycol, rubber, polyethylene terephthalate and other products).

The gas reserves are estimated to be more than 100 billion m³.