Gia Shavdia, director of company Phasis Oil, announces to launch construction of oil processing plant in Kulevi from 2022. According to him, construction of the plant should be started in 2021 but it was delayed due to the pandemic for 2022.
“We are working on the design of the project and started to work on licensing as well. We lost a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but there is nothing we can do about it. There was a "lockdown" all over the world. Therefore, it will probably take a year for the plant to be put into operation and we will not be able to meet it in 2024, but we will really launch the plant from 2025. We have already written to the National Agency for State Property and the government to defer the investment commitment. He is aware of everything," Shavdia said.
According to Gia Shavdia, Phasis Oil plans to invest USD 1.2 billion in the construction of oil processing plant in Kulevi.
“The minimum investment commitment is USD 120 million. We are committed to investing at least USD 120 million in this area. We are planning to process imported raw materials. Several countries will be suppliers including the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, as well as Libya and Saudi Arabia. We need to import the so-called light oil. Production will start in 2025 and we plan to process 4.5 million tons of crude oil annually, ”said Gia Shavdia.
