Sales of polyethylene produced by the polymer plant in Kiyanly have significantly increased on the state commodity exchange of Turkmenistan.
According to the international independent Agency ARGUS MEDIA, which covers energy and commodity markets, 128.5 thousand tons of polyethylene were sold at the SCRET in the first eight months of this year, which is 93.3 thousand tons more than in the same period last year. Thus, the demand for these products exported to China, Turkey, Russia and other countries increased almost 3.7 times.
According to the global analytical company ICIS, in August Turkmenistan became one of the three main suppliers of low-pressure polyethylene to Turkey. About 7 thousand tons of this polymer material were delivered to the Turkish market. We add that large quantities of high-density polyethylene were purchased by representatives of the world's business community in September and October, including for deliveries to Turkey, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, other countries of Southeast Asia, as well as the CIS.
As you know, the polymer plant in Kiyanli was put into operation with the participation of the President of Turkmenistan in October 2018. This event marked another significant step towards the successful implementation of the "program for the development of the oil and gas industry of Turkmenistan for the period up to 2030", an important aspect of which is the diversification of the industry, the creation of high-tech industries specializing in oil and gas processing and producing products that are in high demand on world markets.
The largest gas chemical complex in the region was commissioned by the State concern "Türkmengaz" by LG International Corp and Hyundai Engineering (Republic of Korea) with the participation of TOYO Engineering Corporation (Japan). Based on modern technologies, various types of polyethylene and polypropylene are produced here, which are widely used in the machine-building, automotive, electronics and electrical industries, textile industries, chemical and construction industries.
It should be noted that due to the difficult situation in the global economy caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the demand for plastics in the above-mentioned industries has decreased. Along with this, the demand for polymer products in healthcare, food industry and trade has increased. Polyethylene and polypropylene are used for the production of packaging materials and containers-bottles, lids, disposable plastic grocery bags, as well as medical masks, Shoe covers, dressing gowns, etc.
In the future, it is planned to increase the capacity of the polymer plant in Kiyanli. In particular, the State concern "Türkmengaz" is currently holding an international tender for the construction of an isobutene production unit at this plant.
We also recall that during the state visit of the President of the Republic of Korea moon Jae-In to Turkmenistan last year, agreements were reached on the implementation of a number of new joint projects in the gas chemical industry.
Thus, in accordance with the Memorandum of understanding between the closed joint-stock company "Turkmen national oil and gas company ("NaPeCo")" and the company "LG International Corp.", it is planned to create a joint venture to sell high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) on the world markets.
In addition, one of the main areas of cooperation between the Ministry of textile industry of Turkmenistan and the Korean Institute of industrial technologies (KITECH) will be studying the possibilities of establishing the production of textile synthetic fibers from polymers of the Kiyanli gas chemical complex.
Mutual interest in the implementation of these projects, which were postponed due to the Covid-19 epidemic, was again confirmed during a meeting of the joint Turkmen-Korean Business Council held via digital video link in the spring of this year.
