Project Summary:

The company intends to raise the needed finances for working capital to construct a refinery with a capacity to process up to 4.2 million tons of light crude oil per year in the Poti region of Georgia.

The refinery will have a “IsoTheming” hydrotreatment unit (licensor DuPont), fixed bed catalyst hydrocracking (licensor DuPont) and light fraction shift units to produce EURO 5 high-octane gasoline and diesel fuel as well as LPG and electricity.

DuPont’s latest technology rise refinery efficiency up to 96% and gives a significant competitive advantage to our company among all the competitors in the region.

Capital Discipline for the development/construction of a Light Oil Crude Refinery in the City of Kulevi in the State of Georgia.

The company’s project implementation process requires the development of three (3) stages before final approval is granted to start construction:

These are:

Stage I – Opportunity Identification

Stage II – Conceptual Project

Stage III – Basic Project

At the end of each stage, as the maturity level of project information increases, a decision gate will confirm the project’s viability and whether it adds value to the company’s portfolio. The project will then compete with other projects for the necessary resources to advance to the next stage.

Stage IV, when investments are effectively contracted, will only be initiated if the project’s technical feasibility and economic viability has been confirmed (Stage 3 approval).

There is an exception for oil exploration & production projects in Georgia, which may receive necessary resources in advance of Stage 3 approval, if it is determined such resources will accelerate oil production.

The portfolio analysis of the Phasis Business Plan did not lead to the cancelation of projects. The Plan’s physical targets will be achieved by managing the portfolio, which is now classified into the following groups:

Project scope:

The construction project is comprised of the following:

• 4.2 Mt pa (33,000,000 barrels per annum) refinery construction;
• 3-berth pier construction to receive up to “Aframax” class vessels (120,000DWT);
• Railroad terminal construction for 72 rail cisterns;
• Storage farm of 440,000 m3 construction;
• 50 MWatt power station construction; Hydrogen generating plant construction;

Phasis Group is a middle sized scale but standard and licensed crude oil refinery business that will be based in Light Oil Crude Refinery in the City of Kulevi in the State of Georgia.

Although we intend to start out on a small scale, that will not in any way stop us from maximizing our potential in the international crude oil industry. We hope to grow the business so as to start exporting refined crude oil products from the Georgia to other neighboring countries.

Our business goal as a standard and licensed crude oil refinery business is to become one of the leading oil and gas companies in Georgia.

Our business activities will involve: gasoline production, kerosene production, distillate fuel oil (diesel fuel) production, aviation fuel production, residual fuel oil production, lubricant production, producing aliphatic and aromatic chemicals as byproducts, diesel fuel oil, jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gases, residual fuel oil, and other refined petroleum products. We have been able to secure permits from all relevant departments in the State of Georgia to run the business.

However, upon the company’s growth, we would like to serve the Georgia, Armenia, Turkey and Ukraine market. Being an animated visionary, a success-inclined personality, a passion-driven human, and a result-motivated individual, Mr. Rolf Gruenhut was propelled to found and manage PHASIS INVEST LLC. Consequently, he engenders diligence, the significance of individual power and collective efforts, resoluteness and passion for excellence, and will be of immense benefit to the growth and sustainability of the organization.

Free Industrial Zones in Kulevi and Kutaisi:

Many foreign investors find Georgian Free Industrial Zones (FIZ) very attractive.

These are special territories with a lower tax burden often referred to as tax havens.

Both legal entities and private entrepreneurs registered in a FIZ pay almost nothing in taxes on the condition that they export their produce to other countries.

Another valuable merit such zones have is the provision for duty free trade with China, the EU and the CIS countries as well as those bordering Georgia.

Thanks to this, goods marked “Made in Georgia” are highly competitive in many foreign markets.

What else attracts investors to such Free Industrial Zones as those in Kulevi and Kutaisi?

The Kulevi Free Industrial Zone:

The youngest of all Georgian FIZ is the one located near Kulevi settlement in Khobski region in the west of Georgia. The Georgian government has allocated 599 790 square meters (717 343 sq. yards) for this Zone, and it is to be in operation under the current conditions for 99 years.

Even though the government decision to establish this FIZ was made in 2012, the Zone was put into operation only in September 2017. This delay was caused by the change of the Zone management. In the beginning SOCAR Georgia Investments, Ltd. (Azerbaijan) was appointed managing company. It is a subsidiary of the Azerbaijani state oil company who had planned to invest over several years at least $700 million USD into the construction of a carbamide production plant (carbamide is a nitrogen fertilizer).

At the time the memorandum was signed, SOCAR was the main supplier of oil, oil products, and natural gas to Georgia. It had invested over $1 billion USD into different projects in this country. Besides, SOCAR owned an oil terminal in Kulevi.

The start of the FIZ operations was postponed several times, first until September 1, 2014, then until September 1, 2016.

This delay occurred due to transition of the company to a new owner, Phasis Oil LLC (a subsidiary of Streamtrade SA, Switzerland).

The initial construction plan also changed: the carbamide production plant construction was terminated in 2015, and the construction of a petroleum refinery – the first one in Georgia – was started on this territory in 2018.

The expected refinery production capacity is 4 million tons, 500 tons of refined oil per day. In addition to the refinery, a natural gas reservoir and a thermal power station will be built. The estimated overall cost of the project is $1 billion USD.

Apart from constructing the plants, the FIZ administration is obliged to make it fit for conducting business activities there. This includes building the infrastructure, putting customs offices in place and providing all that is necessary for customs control, erecting office buildings and equipping the offices with furniture and clerical aids, and bringing the utilities. The existing infrastructure is meant to suit the companies connected with oil refinery in some way.