Uzbekistan’s Fergana Oil Refinery to save $1 million annually with new storage tanks

Sanoat Energetika Guruhi (Saneg) subsidiary Fergana Oil Refinery, one of the leading enterprises for the production of fuels and lubricants in Central Asia, has installed new tanks that combine ambitious cost savings with significant greenhouse gas reduction.

The plans include the installation of 36 new tanks. Construction and installation work is already underway on 5 tanks of 2,000 m3, 5 tanks of 3,000 m3, and 2 tanks of 10,000 m3 ,which have already been delivered to the plant. Additionally, in the coming months, 116 of 325 tanks will be optimized and replaced with new models.

The new tanks meet the latest requirements in terms of environmental and industrial safety and efficiency by utilizing the TankRadar Rex measuring system. This technology, from the Swiss company Endress+Hauser, includes special pontoons designed to reduce oil product losses from evaporation, as well as advanced measuring instruments for technological and commercial accounting of stored products. The new tanks the irretrievable loss of raw materials by 2%, equivalent to about $1 million annually, based on the cost of marketable products.

As part of Saneg’s commitment to environmental stewardship, the transition to new reservoirs will reduce emissions of hydrocarbon gases into the atmosphere - up to 800 tons per year in the autumn-winter period and 2,200 tons per year in the spring-summer months.

“Saneg makes cost savings and combatting climate change dual priorities, and our modernization efforts at Fergana Refinery always have these two goals as our focus,” said Abdusalom Abdumanoniy, Deputy Director for Modernization and Prospective Development. “The improved tank technology currently being rolled out makes a significant bottom-line impact and a meaningful environmental contribution as well.”

Saneg, which began overseeing operations at Fergana in 2020, acquired the facility in 2022. Its 2024 modernization plan, valued at more than $400 million, will build out the plant into a petrochemical complex, by expanding its product line and improving the quality of its output.