Monday, March 26, 2012 -
A South Korean conglomerate developing gas and chemicals projects in Uzbekistan received a $1 billion loan commitment from a Seoul-based development bank on Monday.
The state-owned international lender Export-Import Bank of Korea, or KEXIM, announced it will extend the financing to support expansion of a gas field near the Aral Sea, the Seoul-based Yonhap news agency reported.
KEXIM said the investment will be spent on development of the Surgil gas field and a plant construction project.
Eight Korean firms are participating in the natural gas and chemicals project in western Uzbekistan along with Uzbek state-run oil and gas corporation Uzbekneftegaz.
The Uzbek national holding company owns 50 percent of the multi-billion dollar joint venture company.
The Korean consortium is led by Honam Petrochemical, which recently increased its stake by 2 percent to 24.5 percent, and Korea Gas with a 22.5 percent holding, the Dow Jones Newswires said. The other six Korean firms own the remaining 3 percent of the shares.
The project was given the green light in August 2011 during the visit of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s visit to the Central Asian state.