Uzbekistan. General Motors Co. global sales rose to more than 9 million vehicles in 2011, a 7.6% gain compared with 2010. GM gained four-tenths of a point of market share to 11.9% of the global vehicle industry. Sales were up in all four reporting regions—North America, South America, Europe and International Operations—as GM sold a total of 9,025,942 vehicles compared with 8,385,484 in 2010. MORE

By the end of the 1980s, it had split into the Small Aral Sea (north), located in Kazakhstan, and the horse-shoe shaped Large Aral Sea (south), shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. New Envisat images released by the European Space Agency (ESA) highlight the dramatic retreat of the Aral Sea’s shoreline from 2006 to 2009. MORE

That includes more than 100,000 Sparks sold during the first half of 2011—a 110% gain over a year ago—driven primarily by consumer demand in South Korea, Mexico, and Uzbekistan. Chevrolet sold 2.35 million vehicles globally in the first six months of 2011, the best half-year performance in Chevrolet’s 100-year history. Chevrolet sold 286,499 more vehicles in the first half of 2011 than the same time period of 2010, a 14% increase year over year. MORE

Cotton is typically grown in arid regions converted to farmland; in Uzbekistan, for example, which is one of the world’s largest exporters of cotton, the extraction of water from rivers that supply the Aral Sea is a key contributor to its deterioration and desertification. by Jack Rosebro. Water consumption or withdrawals per unit of energy produced, by energy type, in the United States. Source: DHI Group. Click to enlarge. MORE

Representatives of General Motors Company in Korea and UzAvtoSanoat of Uzbekistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Seoul, Korea, for their GM Uzbekistan joint venture to launch the production of a new small vehicle mainly destined for emerging markets. GM Uzbekistan already manufactures and markets models such as the Chevrolet Matiz, Lacetti and Captiva. GM Uzbekistan was established in March 2008, with GM holding a 25% stake and UzAvtoSanoat the remaining 75%. MORE

The facility, which covers 40 hectares, is GM’s first engine plant in Uzbekistan. GM Uzbekistan, located in Asaka, was established in March 2008 by the two companies. GM has a 52% stake in GM Powertrain Uzbekistan and its partner has a 48% stake. GM has also employed advanced environmental-protection processes throughout the facility, including the most modern wastewater treatment technology in Uzbekistan with the purest discharge of any facility of its kind within GM. MORE

South African energy and chemicals group, Sasol, together with partners Uzbekneftegaz and PETRONAS, signed an investment agreement with the Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Investment and Trade for the Uzbekistan government, for the development and implementation of a gas-to-liquids (GTL) project in Uzbekistan. MORE

Malaysia-based Petronas has signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with Uzbekistan’s national oil and gas company Uzbekneftegaz (UNG) and Sasol Ltd of South Africa, making further progress on the development and implementation of a proposed Uzbek gas-to-liquids (GTL) project. Apart from these upstream projects, Petronas is also currently undertaking joint studies with UNG for cooperation in the development of downstream petrochemical projects in Uzbekistan. MORE

The projected cost of the Olin Yo’l GTL project in Uzbekistan ( earlier post ) will hit $5.6 Uzbekistan started forming a banking consortium to finance the plant construction in September 2013. billion, according to a project update by Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is supporting the project with a $125-million loan. As originally outlined by founding project partners Sasol, Petronas and Uzbekneftegaz, the project was estimated to cost some $4.1 billion. MORE

Linc Energy now also holds a 74% majority interest in Yerostigaz, a joint stock company located in Angren, Uzbekistan. Simplified UCG process. Click to enlarge. The Government of Alberta, Canada, through the Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI), is providing C$8.83 million (US$7.0 million) toward a $30-million underground coal gasification (UCG) project with Swan Hills Synfuels of Calgary. MORE

Chevrolet continues the global launch of the all-new Malibu midsize sedan by announcing it will go on sale in Uzbekistan starting in July, following introductions in Korea, the United States, China and Europe. The Malibu nameplate debuts in Uzbekistan and will be built for the local and neighboring markets at GM Uzbekistan, the manufacturing joint venture between General Motors and government-owned UzAvtosanoat in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. MORE

It provides market- and brand-specific vehicle kits for assembly at GM facilities in China, Uzbekistan, Mexico, India, Colombia, Russia and other countries. Alpheon eAssist Click to enlarge. GM Korea introduced the Alpheon eAssist, the first hybrid vehicle from the company and the first hybrid vehicle in its segment in Korea. MORE

Sasol is also exploring GTL opportunities in Uzbekistan. South African energy and chemicals group Sasol today announced that it has chosen the southwestern region of the State of Louisiana as the site for a planned gas-to-liquids (GTL) facility. Sasol will embark on a feasibility study to evaluate the viability of a GTL venture in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, over the next 18 months. MORE

Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states and is bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the northeast and east, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest, and the Caspian Sea to the west. In August, a groundbreaking ceremony was held in Ovadan-Depe near the capital of Ashgabad in Turkmenistan to launch the construction of a major plant focused on the conversion of natural gas into synthetic gasoline. MORE

Sasol has signed a Joint Venture Agreement with Uzbekneftegaz (the National Oil and Gas Company of Uzbekistan) and PETRONAS from Malaysia for the development and implementation of a Gas to Liquids (GTL) project in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan contains large amounts of natural gas reserves but is constrained by the lack of available natural gas transport infrastructure, according to the US Energy Information Administration. MORE

TechnipFMC was the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the Oryx GTL facility in Qatar and has performed a number of front-end engineering designs for GTL facilities, including the Uzbekistan GTL. Sasol and Haldor Topsoe, two of the global leaders in gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology, have entered into a collaboration agreement to offer single-point licensing of proven and bankable GTL solutions to produce diesel, kerosene and naphtha from natural gas. MORE