Bukhara Region is an ancient oasis on the lower reaches of the Zarafshan and the vast Kyzylkum desert. Two large oil and gas chemical enterprises operate in the region and a third is under construction; pharmaceuticals, the food industry and building materials production are developing, and solar and wind power plants are being built. Two different environments set different requirements for protection: at field and processing facilities in the sands, the main things are fire protection against a hydrocarbon fire and corrosion protection of pipelines and vessels; in the oasis and the city, protection of buildings, foundations and building services against saline water and fire.
Desert and oasis: what they do to a coating
In Uzbekistan’s Third National Communication on climate, Bukhara represents the country’s desert zone. The summer here is long and scorching, there is little precipitation, and dust storms are a common occurrence: the Bukhara weather station records on average about 25 dust storm days a year (Rakhmatova et al., 2025). In July 2026 the station set a new absolute maximum temperature of 46.9 °C, while the most severe frost on record, −23.5 °C, occurred in January 2008. On an open site this means:
- steel becomes scorching hot by day and cools at night — thick coatings and fire protection layers work under constant temperature cycling;
- sand and dust settle on freshly cleaned steel and into the uncured coat, and in strong winds act on the coating like an abrasive;
- strong sunlight destroys epoxy coats that have no weather-resistant topcoat — a polyurethane or polysiloxane top layer is needed;
- in the oasis the groundwater has risen to the surface and is saline: researchers note waterlogging of almost the entire territory of the city and secondary salinisation of the soils (Tadjibaeva and Mavlyanova, 2021).
The atmospheric corrosivity category for steel at an oil and gas site is determined to ISO 12944-2, taking process emissions and spills into account; for exposed structures it is, as a rule, C3–C4, but this is checked separately for each facility — to ISO 9223 or by measurement. Buried pipelines and tank bottoms are designed for soil — category Im3.
Oil and gas facilities: fire protection
At gas and oil treatment and processing units, in pump houses and at tank farms, the fire scenario is different from that in an ordinary building: the temperature rises faster, and a leak under pressure can produce a jet flame. That is why pipe racks, supports of columns and vessels, and vessel skirts are protected with systems tested for hydrocarbon and jet fire conditions: epoxy intumescent coatings or cementitious plasters. The required fire resistance time is determined by the design and the fire risk analysis; we calculate the thicknesses for each section (calculations and justification).
Tanks, pipelines, hot equipment
- Internal surfaces of tanks for crude oil, condensate and petroleum products, as well as for produced and process water — lining coatings resistant to the specific product and temperature.
- External surfaces of vessels and pipelines — systems with a zinc-rich primer and a weather-resistant topcoat.
- Hot pipelines and vessels, including those under thermal insulation — heat-resistant coatings: corrosion under insulation develops unnoticed and is discovered too late.
- Coating requirements in oil and gas projects are often set by industry standards — see the overview in the corrosion protection standards for oil and gas section.
Grouts: compressors, pumps, wind turbines
Reciprocating and centrifugal compressors, gas engine-driven compressors and pump units are classic users of epoxy grouts: these withstand vibration and alternating loads and are resistant to oils and condensate. An important detail for the desert is the exotherm: on a foundation heated by the sun, an epoxy compound cures faster and heats up more, so pours are planned for the cool time of day and the permissible layer thickness is observed. Foundations of the wind turbines being built in the region need products with proven fatigue resistance that are suitable for large-volume pours — see wind turbine grouts. The city of Bukhara is assigned to the intensity 8–9 zone on the MSK-64 scale (Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 727 of 17.11.2025), so equipment anchoring is designed with seismicity in mind.
The city, tourism and foundations
In Bukhara itself and in the district centres, hotels, public and commercial buildings and processing plant workshops are being built. Here there is demand for fire protection of frames and cable runs, sealing of penetrations and protection of the below-ground parts of buildings against saline moisture. Researchers link the deterioration of brick, mortar and rubble stone in the city’s historic buildings to the wetting and salinisation of walls, so new and refurbished foundations need waterproofing on the water side and repair mortars for damaged concrete.
Remote sites in the sands
In the field, painting work takes place far from warehouses and laboratories, and preparation decides a great deal. Materials are kept in the shade, and components are not left in the sun before mixing; abrasive is stored dry, otherwise it will bring moisture and salt onto the cleaned steel; a fresh coat is shielded from sand until it has developed its resistance. Inspection instruments — thickness gauges, surface thermometers, a psychrometer, a dust test — must be on site from the start of work, not arrive for acceptance.
How we organise work in the region
We deliver materials to Bukhara, Kagan, Gazli and to sites in other districts; delivery times and method are agreed to suit the volume and the work schedule. If a foreign EPC contractor is working on the project, we translate the client’s requirements into specifications and ITPs in Russian and English and support the approval of equivalent material substitutions.
Desert conditions and the mining enterprises of the neighbouring region are described on the Navoi Region page, gas processing on the Kashkadarya page; the rest are in the list of regions.
Questions about Bukhara Region
Does a pump house or compressor station need fire protection to the hydrocarbon curve?
If flammable gases and liquids are handled in the building or on the site, and the risk analysis envisages a pool fire or a jet fire — yes. A “civil” paint tested only to the standard curve does not confirm the required time here.
How should buried pipelines in saline soil be protected?
With a coating designed for category Im3 and the operating temperature of the pipe, combined with electrochemical protection if the design provides for it. Field welds and areas of damaged pipe coating are protected with materials from the same system.
How does protecting a tank on the outside differ from protecting it on the inside?
On the outside the coating fights the atmosphere: sun, dust, temperature swings. On the inside it fights the product and the tank bottom water, so for a lining the deciding factors are resistance to the specific medium, temperature and acceptability of contact with the product, and the surface preparation is more stringent.
A field, a processing plant or an urban project in Bukhara Region — describe the task and we will propose a protection scheme and a calculation of materials. To contact an engineer: +998 94 094 52 27, WhatsApp and Telegram are available. Send terms of reference and specifications to info@ognezashita.uz.