Oman Daily Observer reported that catering to the bourgeoning demand for iron ore products in the Middle East, Vale has released its first shipment of pellets to Saudi Basic Industries Corporation from its USD 1.35 billion Pelletizing Plant and Distribution Centre in Sohar.

The 77,000 tonne shipment is part of a recently signed long term contract to supply pellets to SABIC.

Vale’s first shipment from Oman was loaded on the 1.5 kilometer jetty operated by Vale at Sohar Industrial Port and the consignment is scheduled to be unloaded in Al Jubail Industrial Port located in Ash Sharqiyah Province in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Mr Sergio Espeschit GM of Vale Sales said that “Our partnership with SABIC has flourished for over 25 years and continues to grow as we both share an evolving vision for a prosperous future that not only touches the lives of people in the steel industry but all those around us. Vale and SABIC have been business partners since the start up of the SABIC Hadeed plant in Al Jubail in 1982.

Mr Espeschit said that “We have managed to substantially reduce the time taken for a shipment to reach SABIC’s plant in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 35 days to 2 days thereby arming Vale and its clients with an even greater competitive edge.”

Vale started pellet production at a capacity of 4.5 million tonnes per year earlier in April 2011 which officially marked the start-up of its first line of operations. The two unit Pelletizing Plant will be fully operational by November 2011 producing total of 9 million tonnes of iron-ore pellets annually.

(Sourced from Oman Daily Observer)