January, 19 2008
CIL to go for IPO after receiving Navaratna status
It is reported that Coal India Limited is likely to go for an initial public offer sometime in 2009 or 2010 once it is conferred the status of a Navratna company.
Mr Partha S Bhattacharyya chairman of CIL, while talking to newspersons on the sidelines of the 2nd Asian Mining Congress said that “In our priority of things, a Navratna status for CIL comes first following which an IPO may be taken up.”
He added that “The percentage of government’s stake dilution or the quantum of money to be raised has not been decided or discussed at this stage. All these will be taken up once the Navratna status is conferred.”
CIL has recently received the status of a Mini Ratna company and has already applied for the status of a Navratna company. The status may be conferred by the government towards December 2008. Mr HC Gupta union coal secretary recently said that “After the screening committee approves Coal India’s claim for Navratna status, the proposal will go to the cabinet secretary for final approval and then it’s only a matter of formal notification.”
CIL has been given the responsibility of meeting the nation’s entire demand for coal and has been asked by the centre to increase coal production by 159 million tonne. In the current plan period, CIL has been directed to enhance production from the present level of 361 million tonne to 520 million tonne in 2011-2012.
Plan for POSCO survey facing uncertainty
SNS reported that although Orissa government and POSCO officials are hoping to resume survey work at the site of the proposed plant from January 21st 2008, uncertainty over a preparatory meeting with members of the United Action Committee has cast a shadow over their plans.
As per report, some UAC members are not keen on attending the meeting and some insist on a three day notice. The UAC, a panel of villagers who will be affected by the project, has reportedly informed the Erasama block development officer of their decision not to attend the meeting.
The scheduled meeting was expected to pave the way for resumption of socio-economic survey of the project site. Now that some of the UAC members have declined the invite, it is feared that the survey could get delayed even more.
ArcelorMittal team to visit HEC
PTI reported that an ArcelorMittal team is scheduled to visit Ranchi based Heavy Engineering Corporation brightening business prospects of the public sector.
As per report the team includes Mr Alan Bordet technical officer of ArcelorMittal, Mr Sanak Mishra CEO of ArcelorMittal India and Mr HS Prasad GM mines of ArcelorMittal India.
The team members are likely to visit HEC's foundry and forge plant, heavy machine building plant and heavy machine tool plant.
HEC, which is getting orders from various public sectors, including the Steel Authority of India Limited, is looking for offers from big private investors as well.
Orissa to restart land demarcation for POSCO site on Jan 21
SNS reported that a week after putting a halt on socio economic survey at Paradip for POSCO's 12 million tonnes per annum project due to resistance from nearby villagers, Orissa government has decided to restart land demarcation work for the proposed steel plant from January 21st 2008.
Mr Priyabrata Patnaik nodal officer for the proposed project said that POSCO project would start on government land, if people of Dhinkia continued to oppose land demarcation work.
Meanwhile, Mr GW Sung director of POSCO India said that POSCO was anxious to hold talks with the residents of Dhinkia village. Mr Sung said that POSCO would have no problem if Dhinkia was excluded from the landscape of the project for the time being. He added that "If the people of Dhinkia do not want the project, POSCO will not force a steel plant on them. We will set up 12 million tonnes per annum plant in 3 phases. If one place is not available now, there is no harm in starting construction on whatever land is available."
On villagers' demand for a compensation of INR 2.5 million per acre of agricultural land and INR 4 million per acre of homestead land, he said that POSCO is ready to negotiate price on private land. He said "But we will not negotiate with the people for the government land. A major portion of the government land in the proposed plant site area is under possession of the people. POSCO will not abide by the price quoted by villagers on government land."
He, however, said that POSCO is ready to pay some compensation to the people who had constructed betel vines on government land. On forest land, Mr Sung said that the company had already appraised its stand to the state government. He added that "We are ready to pay whatever is required to get forest land for industrial purpose."
Ludhiana chamber resents recent hikes in steel prices
Express News Service recently reported that Ludhiana’s Apex Chamber of Commerce & Industry has expressed resentment over the hike in steel prices and has urged the central government to have fiscal and trade control measures to check the rising trend of steel prices.
Mr PD Sharma president of ACCI said that “Steel prices are rising in such a way that it seems that the steel using industry will be wiped out. A sharp rise in the price of steel was seen in 2003-04, but the hike is much worse now.”
Mr Sharma claimed that the main steel producers triggered the hike, and the secondary producers to have taken a cue. He added that the price of ordinary steel round widely used in industry has risen by over INR 3,000 a ton, within a span of one week, with a hike almost every day.
He added that “Steel producers are deliberately creating a shortage to justify the rise in prices. The prices are being fixed on a monopolistic basis and have no relation to production cost.”
Mr Sharma further pointed out that the prices are fixed on import parity basis although India is the cheapest producer of steel, as all the factors of production are most favorable compared to anywhere in the world. He said “Iron ore is amply available. Labour cost is the minimum. There is an abundant supply of domestic coal, and the cost of imported coal has come down heavily due to the appreciation in the value of rupee against the dollar.”
Orissa government pushing for forest clearance for POSCO
SNS reported that both the centre and Orissa government are pushing for forest clearances to the POSCO mega steel plant and port project with the state government, overruling its own officials who felt the proposal be treated as part of a larger scheme involving a mining lease, rail links, water pipeline and a township.
As per report, Orissa government ignored the view of its officials that the project be considered part of INR 50,000 crore investments inclusive of a 600 million tonne mining lease besides other infrastructure. It decided to overlook the comments of officials which opposed de linking the POSCO steel plant and port components from the mining lease for iron ore.
De linking of project components for clearance ensured that the forest diversion for the steel plant and port was not put on hold until the mining lease was cleared. But this has ignored an obvious question raised by state officials like how could the plant be viewed in isolation without examining the supply for minerals to be treated at the facility.
Processing the forest diversion proposal in April 2006, the office of principal chief conservator of forest, Orissa, wrote that all components were integral to the project. Officials said that "It is observed that the project has several components such as steel plant, port, mining project, 300 kilometer of pipeline and township etc. However, there is no mention of requirement of forest land for all these components. Since all these components are integral part of the project, diversion of forest land for one of the components in isolation would not be justified."
Tax evasion detected at steel makers in Mandi Gobindgarh
Express news Services reported tat tax evasion worth lakhs of rupees was recently detected by excise officials during the raids carried out at a dozen steel units in Mandi Gobindgarh area of Punjab.
The report cited a senior excise official as saying that units were issuing unauthorized billing, fake transaction records, fake stamps and even illegal sale tax numbers. He added that “We have seized pen drives and documents that show transactions worth crores of rupees. While we know that these units are suffering losses, the fact remains that they were evading taxes.”
Mr KBS Sidhu director of enforcement Punjab excise & taxation department said that “Most of these units were evading taxes worth lakhs for the past some years and further scrutiny of records would be done to ascertain the exact loss caused to our department. Some of the units were caught in earlier raids but were let off after they deposited the tax.”
Traders, however, have condemned the raids saying that they were suffering huge losses and were in no position to pay up the taxes. Raids were conducted at Dhiman Steels, Vaishno Steel Industries, Diamond Steel and Ganpati Steels Limited following a tip off.
Mr Harmesh Jain president of Small Scale All India Steel Re rollers’ Association said that “Due to the wrong policies of the government and stiff competition from neighbouring states enjoying various tax benefits, traders in the state are suffering huge losses. Hence tax evasion has become a necessary evil.”
E trade to provide efficient service to exporters & importers
It is reported that department of commerce is facilitating a project entitled e trade among all trade regulatory and facilitating agencies like customs, directorate general of foreign trade, sea ports, airports, CONCOR, Banks etc, to provide 24X7 electronic delivery of efficient service to exporters and importers.
It was decided that all exporters and importers would need to maintain only 1 core banking enabled bank account at national level for transactions with any of the stakeholders for trade. This would include customs, DGFT, ports, airports, banks etc. All the concerned government agencies have been advised to facilitate e payment using single core banking enabled bank account of exporters and importers in the country.
Exporters and importers would declare to all the agencies their one bank account in any core banking enabled branch anywhere in India for all payments or receipts, including drawback. This would come into effect throughout India from April 1st 2008.
Currently, exporters and importers have to maintain multiple bank accounts at their head offices of ports and airports etc, to handle their export import transactions.
PGCIL to raise USD 3 billion to meet CAPEX plans
BS reported that Power Grid Corporation of India Limited is in the process of raising over USD 3 billion to meet its capital expenditure plans of INR 55,000 crore for the 11th five year plan period and is in talks with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to avail loans of USD million from each.
While the talks with the World Bank will conclude by February 2008, negotiations with ADB will begin in the same month. Besides, efforts are also on to avail loans of USD 1 billion each from the World Bank and ADB without government guarantee.
Mr RP Singh CMD of Power Grid said that “If the loan materializes, it could open up new windows of opportunity for investing in India’s power transmission and distribution sector.”
PGCIL hopes to mobilize about INR 20,000 crore from the private sector at a 70:30 debt equity ratio. It is in talks with a state and a private player to launch entertainment services through a JV.
Mr Singh said that “It is also planning to enter the tower business, data centre management, gigabit knowledge network and voice over internet, utilizing its nationwide power transmission network. Our plans are to get into the A to Z of telecom and its related businesses. We will invest as and when required, depending on the returns. Returns from this business are as high as 20% to 23%, much higher than what we get from power transmission.”
PGCIL has orders worth INR 300 crore for the October to December quarter 2007 and is hoping for INR 500 crore plus turnover from the telecom and entertainment businesses by next financial year. It will soon float global tenders worth over USD 1 billion to develop transmission grids which will transmit power from the NE region to supply the north and western parts of India.
NTPC set to foray into equipment manufacturing business
BS reported that National Thermal Power Corporation will enter into equipment manufacturing business, with the board giving the go ahead for a JV with Bharat Forge.
A senior official of NTPC said that “It is positioning itself in such a way that it becomes a source of raw materials used for making the equipment and for supplying the main equipment.”
He added that the JV may churn out everything from castings and forgings to large turbines and generators and talks with Bharat Forge for a JV is progressing. According to the NTPC official, it has experience in power generation equipment while Bharat Forge is a leader in forgings
The foray is a part of NTPC’s strategy to reduce the shortages of power equipment in India, which is hampering the addition of power generation capacity. NTPC, which has an installed capacity of 27,904 MW and produces one third of India’s electricity, plans to raise its capacity to over 50,000 MW in the next 5 years.
PTC raises INR 1,200 crore through QIP
PTC India has raised NR 1,200 crore through a qualified institutional placement by allotting 7.41 crore equity shares of INR 10 each at an issue price of INR 155 per share in favour of institutional buyers LIC and Morgan Stanley, among others.
The 4 public sector promoters of the company, NTPC, NHPC, Power Finance Corporation and Power Grid, who held 8% stake each before the QIP issue, now cumulatively hold 21% equity stake. TATA Power, which held 10% in PTC after its initial public offering few years ago, has gradually offloaded shares and has more than halved its shareholding.
The funds will be used to enhance the capital adequacy, capitalisation of financial services arm PTC Financial Services apart from investment in fuel intermediation, investments in entities in the energy sector along with meeting the working capital requirements. After this issue, PTC India’s paid up capital has raised to INR 227.41 crore from INR 150 crore earlier.
KSEB plans INR 1,146 crore CAPEX for 2008
Kerala State Electricity Board is planning capital expenditure to the tune of INR 1,146 crore in 2008-09 for ongoing as also new proposed projects in generation, transmission and distribution sectors.
In a note to the state electricity regulatory commission, the board has projected new capital outlay of INR 540.52 crore for generation, INR 181 crore for transmission, INR 419.52 crore for distribution and INR 5.05 crore for other works.
Meanwhile, the board has revised the capital expenditure estimate for 2007-08 to INR 956 crore from INR 1,022 crore, as originally contained in the application submitted to SERC, after taking into account the achievement made so far.
In 2008-09, the ongoing generation projects have been earmarked a total of INR 279.65 crore.
Meghalaya to check water pollution caused by coal mining
It is reported that Meghalaya government and the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council are being pressured to initiate measures to check pollution in the Lukha river in the Jaintia Hills.
In the first week of January 2008, the river changed colour and a few fishes died because of the rampant coal and limestone mining in the Lumshnong area adjacent to the river. Last year, too, a large number of fishes had died.
While the state pollution control board maintained that unscientific coal mining had contaminated the river, local residents said limestone mining and emission of wastes from cement companies in the nearby Lumshnong area had caused the pollution.
They said that coal mining has been going on in Jaintia Hills for the last 35 years, but it was only after the cement companies came up that they noticed the river change colour. Recently, the state pollution control board officials visited the spot twice but are yet to make the report public.
Concerned over the river pollution, the co ordination committee against Lukha river contamination has set a 30 day deadline to make public the findings of the state pollution control board. Another deadline was set for the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council to clean the Lukha in 30 days.
The state pollution control board, in its report submitted to the government in January 2007, said that rainwater mixed with coal and limestone had polluted the Lunar River, resulting in the death of fishes.
Torrent invites bids for power plant at Dahej SEZ
Torrent Power has invited bids for engineering, procurement and construction of a combined cycle power plant of 350 to 400 MW capacity at Dahej SEZ in Bharuch district in Gujarat.
In a public notice, Torrent Power said that it has been designated as a co developer for development of 1,500 MW power generation and distribution infrastructure at Dahej SEZ, a JV of ONGC and Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation. The last date for submission of bids is April 14th 2008.
The EPC contract, to be awarded for setting up of first stage of up to 400 MW capacity, has been divided into 5 packages consisting of main plant, cooling tower, water treatment plant, switchyard and control room, and general works.
Torrent Power said in the tender document that the qualifying bidder would be responsible for design, manufacture, commissioning, performance testing, and handing of over 350 to 400 MW combined cycle power plant.
Torrent Power distributes power to nearly 2 million customers in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Surat in Gujarat, and Bhiwandi in Maharashtra. It has a generation capacity of 500 MW, while another 1,147.5 MW is in the process of commissioning. It seeks to invest USD 2 billion toward power generation projects in Gujarat.
Godawari Power raises INR 100 crore through QIP issue
Godawari Power & Ispat Limited announced that it has raised over INR 100 crore through institutional placement basis to investors including Lehman Brothers, DSP Merrill Lynch and BNP Paribas.
Godawari Power’s board of directors in its meeting on January 12th 2008 has allotted 322,500 equity shares of INR 10 each at a premium of INR 300 per share through qualified institutional placement basis.
Godawari Power said that the shares were issued to various domestic as well as foreign investors such as Lehman Brothers, Oman National Investment Corporation, Punjab National Bank, DSP Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Securities Mauritius and Allahabad Bank. Besides, shares were also issued to Japan Trustee Services Bank, BNP Paribas, the GMO Emerging Illiquid Mauritius Fund and ABN Amro Mutual Fund.
Nagarjuna Constructions bags 6 contracts worth INR 502 crore
Nagarjuna Construction Co bagged 6 new orders valued at INR 502 crore. The projects are
1) It has got an order worth INR 185 crore from engineer in chief of Public Health, government of Andhra Pradesh for water supply improvement scheme at Warangal in Andhra Pradesh to be completed within a period of 18 months.
2) Nagarjuna has secured an order worth INR 84 crore from commissioner of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation for infrastructure facilities at Vizag to be completed over a period of 18 months.
3) An order worth INR 50 crore from Salarpuria Properties Bangalore for construction of Salarpuria Cyber Gardens at Hitech City Hyderabad to be completed in 16 months.
4) An order worth INR 53 crore from engineer in chief Public Health Hyderabad for water supply improvement scheme at Kadiri in Anantapur district to be completed over a period of 15 months.
5) It has got an order worth INR 53 crore from project engineer of Public Health Engineering Department, government of Chhattisgarh for augmentation water supply scheme at Raipur to be completed over a period of 20 months.
6) An order worth INR 77 crore from chief engineer of Karnataka Urban Water Supply & Drainage Board Bangalore for re modeling of water supply distribution network at Mysore to be completed over a period of 24 months.
Rio Tinto may sell 10% of contracted iron ore at spot price
Rio Tinto Group may sell as much as 10% of the steelmaking raw material supplied under contracts agreed recently at spot prices, which are at a record.
Mr Gervase Greene spokesman of Rio Tinto said that it may exercise a clause in some of the contracts stating it can supply as little of 90% of the agreed amount of iron ore at fixed annual prices.
Producers of the steelmaking raw material are currently negotiating 2008 fixed price contracts with consumers. Rio said last month it will triple sales in the cash, or spot, market this year to 15 million tonnes.
Mr Greene said that “I can not say how much of the 15 million tonnes will come from the 10% rule. Some will be from new production, but what the proportion is we will see over the course of this year because the sales have not begun yet.''
Corus and Salzgitter to develop superior metallic coating
Salzgitter and Corus announced that they have formalized their efforts into joint product development cooperation in the area of metallic coatings with outstanding corrosion performance. Timing and availability of products and applications will be included in progress updates that will be provided during 2008.
The new coating will be developed for a variety of applications, including applications in the building and construction sector, where the market traditionally uses zinc weights of 275 grams per meter square and to applications with higher corrosion requirements in the Automotive and Domestic Appliances sector.
Salzgitter and Corus Strip Products IJmuiden have been working together on identifying opportunities for the application of coatings containing Zinc, Magnesium and Aluminum in selected market sectors. In this cooperation both companies share complementary R&D expertise to develop and optimize these products.
US domestic steel shipment in November up by 8.7% YoY
The American Iron and Steel Institute has announced that for the month of November 2007, US steel mills shipped 8,683,000 net tons, an 8.7% increase from the 7,991,000 net tons shipped in November 2006 and a 6.0% decrease from the 9,238,000 net tons shipped in the previous month, October 2007.
The released said a YoY comparison of YTD shipments shows the following changes within major market classifications:
1. Service centers and distributors down by 9.4%
2 Automotive up by 0.5%
3. Construction and contractors’ products down by 3.0%
4. Oil and gas down by 9.2%.
Rio in Komatsu deal to automate iron ore mines
Rio Tinto has embarked on a ground breaking program to develop a world leading system to automate its Pilbara iron ore operations.
A significant component of this ambitious venture is the formation of an alliance with Komatsu to develop and deploy advanced Autonomous Haulage solutions to support Rio Tinto Iron Ore's operations in Western Australia.
Rio Tinto and Komatsu have agreed to work together to establish an autonomous mining operation in the Pilbara that will feature the industry-leading Komatsu Autonomous Haulage System. The system will be commissioned before the end of 2008. This autonomous mining system will be more widely deployed in new and existing Rio Tinto Iron Ore operations by 2010.
Mr Tom Albanese CEO of Rio Tinto said "Komatsu has been the Rio Tinto Group's preferred supplier of haulage equipment for over ten years. Komatsu is our partner of choice in the development and deployment of autonomous haulage solutions and this alliance marks an important extension to our successful business relationship. Rio Tinto is committed to the development and deployment of integrated autonomous mine to port operations. We are closely focused on supporting our Pilbara iron ore expansion through the application of world-leading automation technologies."
Anglo American acquires majority interest in Foxleigh coal mine
Anglo American plc has announced the acquisition of a 70% interest in the Foxleigh coal mine joint venture at Queensland in Australia. This investment of USD 620 million adds to Anglo American's already substantial and growing coal mining operations in the Bowen Basin, one of the world's premier’s coal regions. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.
Foxleigh's current joint venture partners, the Korean steel company POSCO and the Japanese trading and mining investment company Itochu will hold 20% and 10% interests respectively.
Ms Cynthia Carroll CEO of Anglo American said "The addition of Foxleigh is in line with Anglo American's strategic commitment to further grow our coal business in Australia in order to meet forecast increases in global demand for coal, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. Foxleigh's operations and undeveloped assets are located in one of the world's largest and best developed coal provinces, with which we are very familiar. I believe Foxleigh represents a valuable strategic and complementary addition to our portfolio of coal assets in Australia."
Foxleigh currently produces 2.5 million tonnes per annum of PCI coal for the steelmaking industry. Foxleigh has production capacity of 3.3 million tonnes per annum which it is expected to reach following completion of rail and port expansion projects. The Foxleigh mine adjoins Anglo Coal's Capcoal operations and the associated Lake Lindsay mine development, offering potential synergies. The mine and surrounding tenements will be the subject of ongoing exploration and feasibility studies.
Bulk freight rates may rise after June 2008 on ore talks - CIMB
CIMB GK Research said that shipping costs for iron ore, coal and other commodities may rebound in the second half of 2008 after annual iron ore price talks are completed.
Mr Raymond Yap a Kuala Lumpur based analyst at CIMB GK said that “Chinese importers of iron ore may be temporarily reducing their purchases to influence negotiations while miners are said to be hiding or withholding exports as a means of improving their bargaining power.’’
Bulk shipping rates have slumped by 34% from a record in November 2007 as annual price talks between Chinese steelmakers and iron ore producers are delayed and on concern the US and Chinese economies are slowing. Cia Vale do Rio Doce, Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Limited, which account for 3 quarters of global iron ore trade, in November 2007 began talks with Chinese steelmakers to set benchmark contract prices for 2008.
Mr Yap said that Vale, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are pushing for a 25% to 50% increase in the contracted price of iron ore while Chinese steel producers including Baosteel Group Corporation are willing to accept a gain of between 20% and 30%. He added that “Dry freight rates could continue to weaken throughout the first half of 2008 before bottoming sometime in mid 2008.’’
Mr Chen Xianwen head of market research at the producer funded China Iron & Steel Association said that an accord between Chinese steelmakers and ore producers on the 2008 price for the raw material may be delayed by about 2 months until June 2008.
Goldman raises South Korean 2008 GDP forecast to 5.1%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc said that South Korea's economy may expand at the fastest pace in 6 years in 2008 as the new president's plans to encourage investment and spending provide much needed impetus.
Mr Kwon Goohoon Goldman's Seoul based economist said that Goldman raised its growth estimate to 5.1% from a November 2007 prediction of 4.8%. The central bank will cut its benchmark interest rate a half percentage point by mid year. He added that "The recent presidential election in Korea was a landmark event, turning the political landscape in favor of deregulation, markets and growth. The positive political developments, together with an enthusiastic reaction from the business community, could provide much needed impetus to the economy."
Mr Lee Myung Bak won the December 19th 2007 presidential election on his pledge to increase annual economic growth to 7% and to double per capita income to USD 40,000 by 2017, by encouraging big companies to boost spending and hiring. One of his goals includes building a 550 kilometer canal running almost the length of the country.
An annual growth rate of 5.1% in 2008 would exceed the government's estimate of an upper 4% pace in 2007 and would be the quickest since a 7% expansion in 2002.
Mr Kwon said that "Although the slowdown in the US and its spillover to Japan, the EU and China will likely slow total export growth to these countries to single digits, we expects the losses to be mostly offset by the ongoing geographic diversification of Korea's overseas markets."
Shipments to non traditional markets, which include Southeast Asia, Latin America, Middle East and Eastern Europe, expanded to 43% of South Korea's total exports from 37% in 2004. Exports rose 14.2% last year, the government said this week. Even as shipments to Japan and the US faltered, shipments to China surged more than 18% and shipments to the Middle East soared almost 39% in the January 1st to December 20th 2007 period.
ArcelorMittal NA raises Canadian rebar prices by CAD 60
ArcelorMittal North America informed customers that it would increase prices of concrete reinforcing bar produced at its 2 Canadian steel mills by CAD 60 per tonnes, effective with new orders beginning January 16th 2008.
Mr David Allen spokesman of ArcelorMittal North America said that "This increase reflects current market conditions and brings rebar pricing in line with current raw material costs."
ArcelorMittal North America produces rebar products at Contrecouer and Longueuil in Quebec. The Contrecouer mini mill operates 2 electric arc furnaces with capacity of 1.7 million tonnes per year of raw steel. It is also raising the price of coiled rebar produced at its Georgetown mill by USD 60 per tonne effective with shipments from February 1st 2008.
Billet prices continue to rocket in South East Asia
It is reported that billet import price in South East Asia is on an upward trend and has reached C&F USD 700 per tonne due to short supply. But traders indicated that the purchasing is not so strong, the steel mills only bought in such high prices when they have to fulfill the contracts.
According to market participant, Malaysian billet export prices to Vietnam have touched CFR USD 695 per tonne and the demand from Thailand is getting stronger now.
In India, the billet import price was settled at USD 655 per tonne last week but has now jumped to USD 720 per tonne to USD 730 per tonne.
Consol Energy to reopen Buchanan Mine
Consol Energy has announced that it expects to remove temporary mine seals and restart ventilation fans at its Buchanan Mine near Mavisdale in Virginia.
The date for the restart of the fans was approved by the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, and by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, subject to the condition that the mine’s atmosphere remains in its current stable condition at the time of start up.
Following the restart of the fans, the agencies required a minimum of seven days of monitoring to establish that the underground environment is safe for re-entry by trained mine rescue teams. Re-entry by the teams must be approved by both agencies.
CONSOL Energy has established more than 100 monitoring stations, allowing the mine atmosphere to be thoroughly sampled. In addition, the company has drilled approximately 50 boreholes into the mine that allow water or inert gases to be pumped into areas where the possibility of combustion might exist.
Production at the mine was suspended on July 9th 2007 after several roof falls in previously mined areas damaged some of the ventilation controls inside the mine, requiring a general evacuation of the mine. The mine employs approximately 520 people and annually produces about 5 million tons of high quality metallurgical grade coal. In late November 2007, in response to a safety agency requirement, the mine was sealed as a final step before re entry in order to ensure that the mine atmosphere was inert and incapable of supporting combustion.
BHP Billiton and SACMH agree on mediation
BHP Billiton Energy Coal SA and South African Coal Mining Holdings said that they had agreed to mediation over their contractual dispute and were discussing a mutually agreeable date.
Ms Bronwyn Wilkinson BHP Billiton spokeswoman said that the matter had been referred to mediation as a first step in the process of arbitration, and the parties were finalizing the details of that process.
Mr Karl Gribnitz CEO of SACMH said that the parties had agreed on mediation, the attorneys had presented their documentation, and the parties were now waiting to agree on a mediation date. He added that SACMH would prefer to settle the matter in a sensible way, rather than running to the courts, but it was not afraid of big companies.
The dispute arose 2 years ago when SACMH was trading as Yomhlaba Resources. Yomhlaba’s only income producing activity was reprocessing coal from discard dumps under contract from Ingwe Coal. Ingwe was renamed BHP Billiton Energy Coal SA in 2007.
On March 1st 2005, Ingwe terminated the contract because of alleged illegal or unethical practices. At the time, Yomhlaba said Ingwe had started to demand coal of a higher specification four months earlier and had been rejecting the coal it was producing. Attempts to restructure the contract had failed.
Shortly afterwards, Yomhlaba decided to suspend trade in its shares, and it remained suspended for about a year before undergoing a substantial restructuring with new shareholders Royal Bafokeng Capital and new operating coal mines Umlabu and Ilanga. Although it is pursuing its claim for about ZAR 48 million against Billiton, it has not provided for a recovery in its financial results.
Japan eying increase in HR export price to South Korea
It is reported that Japanese steel makers plan to improve the HRC export price for shipments to South Korea.
Now JFE is tagging at USD 560 per tonne FOB, Nippon Steel at USD 550 per tonne whose prices are much lower than that on the international market. Thus Nippon Steel probably would shoot up price to USD 700 per tonne FOB for Q2 2008.
South Korean CRC producers are quite worried on hearing the news. The current contract s between Nippon Steel and South Korean producers are going to end in March and both parties are to negotiate new price in February.
Rebar, HR and CR prices up in Mexico
It is reported that the steel flat product and long product prices have significantly raised in Mexico market, boosted by higher consumption from new construction projects.
Mexico's domestic rebar prices have raised by around USD 80 to USD 90 per tonne. Current hot roll coil price is prevailing about USD 700 to USD 710 per tonne, while cold roll coil price is about USD 790 to USD 800 per tonne, both increased by around USD 40 to USD 50 per tonne.
Atlas Tube to raise prices
North American leading manufacturer of hollow structural section, Atlas Tube has announced to increase prices on all HSS by USD 60 per short tonne and the new price will be effective immediately.
The price rise is due to the higher raw material costs and the tight supply of hot rolled coil.
Taiwan's export of welded pipes drops in December 2007
According to the related report of the Customs, Taiwan exported 21,279 tonnes of welded pipes in December 2007 decreased by 7.4% from last month.
The export price on average has decreased from NTD 29,230 per tonne to NTD 27,380 per tonne.
As the largest import country of Taiwan’s pipes, America imported 9,191 tonnes in December dropped obviously by 16%. Beside, China imported 4,707 tonnes at the price of NTD 29,110 per tonne.
ArcelorMittal Weirton plans to sell part of property
It is reported that ArcelorMittal Weirton will be putting up for sale a large amount of their property.
ArcelorMittal Weirton plans to save about 240 acres of land for production of the mill, but after assessing what's really needed for continuing production, they have broken about 1,700 acres into parcels for sale. They plan to work alongside city government and their goal is to bring jobs and business to the city.
Mayor Mark Harris said this is the best opportunity he's seen in Weirton for decades. He said that "We can actually go along with them and help them market the land and help create jobs and business. That is something that city council and the mayor have never been able to do before."
Mr Harris said he plans to work with state government on tax incentives to make the area marketable.
ArcelorMittal's Real Estate Group said they are already in talks with potential buyers, and mentioned Wal-Mart as an interested buyer.
Paladio bags two contracts
Following the win of an USD 11 million contract by one of its subsidiary recently, industrial service provider Paladio Group is on a roll with two more contracts secured recently. Paladio Group said its two other subsidiaries have won USD 10 million in new orders.
McFee Pty Ltd will receive USD 8 million for the structural, mechanical and piping installation for a new mineral processing plant in remote Australia. Its industrial coating subsidiary, Novacoat will receive USD 2 million for a package to treat fabricated structural steel works for the Boddington Gold expansion project.
Mr Dick Wright MD of Paladio's said "This continues the excellent start to calendar 2008 as McFee and Novacoat were poised to win these projects for some time. These projects are part of the significant infrastructure work programs currently in progress in the resources sector."
The Paladio Group employs over 400 people across Australia and provides a range services through a group of integrated businesses to resource projects and infrastructure owners throughout Australia.
AISI promotes Mr Larson to MD of construction technical
The American Iron and Steel Institute has announced that Mr Jay Larson has been promoted to MD of construction technical. In this new position, he will manage the planning, continuous improvement and implementation of the AISI Construction Technical Program, which includes AISI’s longstanding and effective building code and standards development functions. He will also serve as liaison to a new group, the Construction Technical Committee, which will coordinate guidance for the construction technical program with member company and customer association members. Mr Larson was previously the Institute’s director of construction standards development.
Mr Larson’s new position signals an increased emphasis on the integration of AISI technical construction activities with the technical needs of its member companies and customer associations. Concurrent with this external emphasis, the MD position will be tasked with coordination of existing internal technical programs, including AISI Construction Codes and Standards, the Committee on Specifications and the Committee on Framing Standards.
Mr Robert J Wills, PE vice president of construction market development of AISI’s said that “The industry needs a strategic planner who can work with our producer and customer partners to evaluate and address technical opportunities and challenges for steel products in the construction marketplace. Mr Jay’s many years of experience in various aspects of the steel industry uniquely equip him with the relationships and perspective needed to bridge the technical needs for steel with AISI’s resources to meet those needs. Mr Robert said that I am very confident in Mr Jay’s abilities and I look forward to working with him to align AISI’s technical and marketing construction activities with industry expectations.”
Mr Jay Larson joined AISI in May 2003 as director of construction codes and standards. In that position, he provided leadership and technical support as secretary of the AISI Committee on Framing Standards, was a leader on the Steel Framing Alliance Research Team, and served as secretary of the Cold Formed Steel Engineers Institute Technology Development Committee. His work resulted in a series of successful industry sponsored research projects and the development of a suite of ANSI approved and code-adopted design and installation standards for cold-formed steel framing.
Prior to joining AISI, Mr Larson’s career included 24 years of steel industry experience in the technical marketing of construction products, facilities engineering and product development. He has two patents. He was the recipient of two of Bethlehem Steel Corporation’s Team Excellence Awards for Construction Marketing in 1991 and Residential Framing in 1998. Mr Larson is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Pennsylvania. He graduated from Lehigh University with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering and a Master of Science degree in civil engineering.
Vinalines to construct international port in May 2008
Vietnam News Agency reported that the Viet Nam Shipping Lines Corporation will start work on the construction of an international port in Lach Huyen in Cat Hai district, the northern port city of Hai Phong in May 2008. This is one of the two national projects scheduled to start in Hai Phong city in 2008.
The VND 28 trillion port, to be completed in 2020, will be Vietnam’s largest deep water port, capable of accommodating ships of up to 6,000 TEU and 50,000 DWT and handling 100 millions of goods a year.
In the first step, Vinalines will build 2 harbors with 600 meters of quays to receive 50,000 tonne ships and a logistics service centre. As part of its strategy to become a strong economic group in the region, Vinalines plans to build 5 more ports in Hai Phong city which can receive up to 20,000 tonne ships, a logistics service centre in Dinh Vu port, a training centre in Do Son town and invest in industrial parks, properties and urban areas in Hai Phong.
Pakistan’s power crisis to last for another 2 years - Experts
The power crisis in Pakistan is expected to last for another 2 years and experts have advised the government to adopt immediate measure to cope with the situation in the best possible manner.
They pointed out that the national economy would not be able to withstand the type of blunders committed by the planners in electricity management this year. Government should look for alternate sources of generating electric power. They said that the nation lost precious time in the bureaucratic struggle between the WAPDA and the ministry of water and power.
The experts cited the example of Neelum Jhelum Hydro electric project and Lakhra coal fired electric generation projects both of which were in cold storage but have been launched immediately after former chairman WAPDA Mr Tariq Hameed took over as federal caretaker minister for water & power. They added that presently Pakistan through PPIB sanctions the thermal projects and decides the power purchase rate. The tariff is decided by the government that even over ride the decision of NEPRA the regulatory body in this regard.
They said there would have been no load shedding this winter had WAPDA or whatever authority monitored the stocks of oil kept by the IPPs. As the managing Director PEPCO revealed that under agreement with the government of Pakistan it is mandatory for the IPPs to keep an oil stock of 21 days but none complied with this regulation. In ordinary circumstances this would have gone unnoticed but when the transport remained suspended for few days the folly of many IPPs was exposed.
The experts said that lavish air conditioning in government buildings should be curtailed forthwith and lightening at public and private buildings should also be reduced. In fact they added the government should impose additional tax on all lightings outside the buildings to discourage this practice. The experts point out that this measure along with reducing the street lights by half would save another 600 MW around the year at peak consumption hours.
OVL to pick up stake in Kish gas block in Iran
It is reported that Indian petro major ONGC Videsh Limited is set to sign a deal with Iranian oil major Petropars for a stake in the USD 30 billion discovered Kish gas block in Iran even as it filed its first ever commerciality report on the Farsi block.
The two partners, OVL and Petropars, have approached the National Iranian Oil Company for joint development of the Kish gas field, having 48 trillion cubic feet in place gas reserve.
According to sources within the Iranian government, the value of natural gas and gas liquid products of Kish block is estimated to be around USD 30 billion. It is said the recovery factor of Kish field is around 75% with around 36 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas.
OVL has estimated reserves of almost 7 trillion cubic feet of gas and 1 billion barrels of oil in this block, which will soon be taken up for development.
Qatar awards EUR 500 million contract to Areva
Pipeline Magazine reported that Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation has awarded EUR 500 million contract to French nuclear reactor maker Areva.
The contract includes the turnkey delivery of 14 gas insulated substations to develop and improve the network in the Doha region. The equipment is planned for delivery by the first quarter of 2010.
In addition to this, Areva was awarded a second contract, which includes the delivery of a state of the art technology to upgrade the National Control Center.
Ms Anne Lauvergeon CEO of Areva said that “We are honored to have been awarded this turnkey contract, the biggest ever for the T&D division. We are delighted that our leadership in the area of GIS is recognized, as well as the competitiveness of our customer-oriented solutions. These two wins will reinforce our leading position in the region and our presence in Qatar.”
With a 20% market share in the Middle East region, Areva’s activities have grown significantly over the past few years thanks to its recognized expertise. These strategic win accompanies the booming development of Qatar and secure power supply for both domestic and industrial end-users.
More than 60 firms to take part in OGWA 2008
Khaleej Times reported that more than 60 leading local and international companies, including several major players in the industry, have confirmed their participation in the “Oil & Gas West Asia” exhibition that Oman will be hosting from April 21st to 23rd 2008.
Mr CJ Paul GM of Omanexpo, organizer of the event, said that "OGWA 2008 is shaping up to the biggest ever gathering in Oman of oil & gas industry professionals as the number of participating companies this year is already much higher than in previous editions of the event."
He attributed the strong response to the ongoing heightened exploration and production activities in Oman, resulting in major opportunities for all companies directly serving the industry.
Saudi Arab to raise oil output only if justified
The Peninsula reported that OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia will increase crude output if such a rise is justified.
Mr Ali Al Nuaimi oil minister of Saudi Arabia said that "We will raise production when the market justifies it, this is our policy. OPEC in its forthcoming meeting will of course look at all the available data such as the projected demand, the supply available and particularly the world inventory levels and decide accordingly. We as a producing country look for maintaining the fundamentals of the oil market as healthy as possible."
While saying Saudi Arabia does not wish to see any country go through stagnation or recession, Mr Naimi said that oil prices were not the only cause of such misfortune. He added that "Presidents and kings have every right, every privilege to comment or ask or say whatever they want. The concern for the US economy is valid, but what affects the economy is more than the impact of oil."
Yemen qualifies 25 firms for offshore bid
Yemen’s ministry of oil & minerals has pre qualified 25 oil companies to participate in the 4th international bid round for the offshore blocks that was announced on August 8th 2008.
The total number of companies that submitted an expression of interest for 11 open blocks in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arab Sea and South of Socatra is reported to be 30.
The financial and technical screening of the companies resulted in qualifying the companies representing 15 different countries. The list includes international super majors such as Exxon Mobil, France’s Total, Norway’s StatoilHydro, Spain’s Repsol YPF, US Occidental Petroleum, Japan Petroleum Exploration, Korea National Oil Corp, Gaz de France and India’s Gujarat Petroleum.
Yemen launched the open blocks for bidding in August 2007 which include blocks 22, 23, 46, 55, 61, 62, 63, 93, 94, 95, and 96 aiming to attract international companies to its under explored offshore blocks.
Minmetal’s Hunan to raise ferroalloy output in 2008
Platts reported that China Minmetal’s Hunan Ferroalloy plans to increase its ferroalloy output to 230,000 metric tonnes in 2008 up around 80,000 metric tonnes compared with 2007.
The official said trading major China Minmetals in May last year acquired Hunan Ferroalloy which had filed for bankruptcy in April 2007. Our ferroalloy output has gone up since the takeover. From May until the end of last year our output was about 110,000 tonnes, while for the whole year it was less than 150,000 tonnes."
He said the company's ferroalloy output includes silicomanganese, ferrochrome and ferromanganese. The majority of our company's output is still silicomanganese at 130,000 tonnes per year to 140,000 tonnes per year with 60% to 70% of the output being sold domestically."
The official added that recently the company sold 65% silicomanganese at CNY 11,000 per tonnes ex plant. He said that prices are strong due to tighter spot supply. Quite a lot of ferroalloy producers in Sichuan and Guizhou provinces had earlier shut down production because of high power costs amid stricter environmental controls.
Tisco gearing up stainless steel production capacity
China’s biggest stainless producer, Taiyuan Iron & Steel has announced to commission in 2008 a stainless steel cold rolled project with an annual output of 1.5 million tonnes.
Taiyuan steel output in 2007 was 10 million tonnes of which 3 million tonnes were stainless steel.
China’s stainless steel apparent consumption is expected to reach 6.7 million tons about 11% higher than in 2006. Tisco is expecting to achieve the leading market position in the market.
0.5 million tonne steel capacity closed in the city of Laiwu
It is reported that, in the first list of eight cities closing down outdated iron and steel capacity, the city of Laiwu, which lies in province Shandong, the east of China, has already completed the mission of closure. It has totally closed down 530,000 tonnes of outdated capacity and effectively released pressures on resources and the environment in Laiwu.
In 2005, one 3 tonne electric furnace of Laiwu Steel Rolling Plant was shutdown and eliminated equipments in November, eliminated 100,000 tons of backward steel production capacity. In 2007, it had eliminated 430,000 tonnes of outdated steel capacity.
Tanggang Group posts CNY 5.4 billion profit for 2007
It is reported that Tangang Group produced 22.75 million tonnes of steel in 2007 and realized operating income CNY 86.0 billion, revenue CNY 9.6 billion and profit CNY 5.4 billion, up by 39.4%, 86.3% and 147.6% compared with those of 2005 when the group was formed.
The economic benefit in 2007 was 2.48 times of that in 2005. Meanwhile profit of Tanggang Group accounted 41% of the whole of the companies in which Hebei Province State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission has shares, and the revenue took 38%.
Now Tanggang Group is targeting at constructing a leading company in domestic and of first level in the world, taking the advantage of developing coastal area and strengthening the economic power in Hebei Province. Tanggang Group plans to construct the largest vanadium and titanium products base in China and the largest high grade sheet and plate and structure steel base in North China, and become one of the top 500 companies in 2010.
Baosteel group adds CNY 3 billion to control Basteel
Basteel Group has announced that Baosteel group and Xinjiang autonomous regional government signed agreement which was about reorganization of Basteel group. Baosteel adds CNY 3 billion to Basteel, and the government assesses the value of approximately CNY 330 million of land use right.
So the supervision and management committee of Xinjiang autonomous regional government will hold 15% stake of Basteel group, Baosteel will hold 69.61% stake of Basteel, it will become the controlling shareholder of Basteel.
Sino Steel to be one of top 500 enterprises in the world in 2008
According to Mr Huang Tianwen president of China Sino Steel Group Co that Sino Steel Group is likely to become one of top 500 enterprises in the world in 2008.
In 2008 working conference of Sino Steel Group, Mr Huang Tianwen introduced that the sales income of Sino Steel Group in 2007 was CNY 111.24 billion up by 83.03%YOy. In 2008 Sino Steel Group is shooting at a sales income of around USD 20 billion which is the base condition of becoming top 500 enterprises in the world.
Mr Huang Tianwen noted that Sino Steel Group will be active in managing capital market in 2008 in order to create better conditions for sustaining development. Meanwhile, it should continue to strengthen the exploitation of mineral resources and to raise the ability in internationalized management.
Sichuan Coal starts building coke plant in Panzhihua
It is reported that Sichuan Coal Group started building a plant to produce coke and make comprehensive use of the coke gas in Panzhihua, with total investment of CNY 865 million.
The plant is slated to be completed by 2009 and the chain expected to extend to include 1 million tonnes coke, 100,000 tonnes formaldehyde a year, with sales income targeted at CNY 1.59 billion and profits of CNY 221 million.
The project is believed to go in accordance with the nation's coke restructuring policy as well as the emission reduction and energy saving measures. It is listed as a keynote technical innovation item in Sichuan Province in 2008 and the province's major supported coking project during 11th five year period.
China has 364 on the waiting list for export license renewal
It is reported that China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has made an important announcement regarding export licenses; currently, there are still 364 applicants of scrap companies pending approval from the department.
Yet, there are already 1800 companies out of 2164 renewal applications with qualified licenses which have been approved by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries.
Since 2005, AQSIQ has issued 3000 licenses for scrap companies, of two years validity; companies still waiting for approval notice fear they will not be able to ship any material unless the confirmation approval authority has been informed which old licenses may not be workable after the deadline.
Baosteel to start seamless tube project
According to Baosteel’s official, Boasteel Special Steel proposes to start an annual output of 23,000 tonnes of hot extrusion tube project in 2009 with investment of about CNY 910 million.
The plan of facilities will supply products including nickel base alloy tube, titanium and titanium alloy tube, duplex stainless tube, austenitic stainless which are used in nuclear power station projects.
Those tubes products will especially used for manufacturing nuclear steam generator and accelerate the development China’s nuclear industry. Also, those special tubes can be utilized in petroleum exploration, electricity, and chemical industries.
Taihan Electric Wires buys Daimyung Technical Metal Slitting
It is reported that Taihan Electric Wire, South Korean based Company has acquired Daimyung Technical Metal Slitting which is a stainless cold rolled coil processor that will expect to up their processing capacity to 1,800 tonnes per month.
Taihan Stainless Steel located in Ansan area focuses on most austenitic stainless steel with thickness from 0.05mm to 1mm and width up to 500mm.
Ukraine plans to produce 38 million tons of pig iron in 2008
Mr Severnuk the deputy minister of industrial policy of Ukraine at the balance meeting in Dnepropetrovsk said that Ukraine plans to produce 38 million tonnes of pig iron in 2008 about 45.9 million tonnes of steel and 40.6 million tonnes of rolled metal.
The mining metallurgical sector is store to solve a range of problems connected with the providing of the metallurgical enterprises with iron ore raw materials and coke in connection with the volume rise of the main kinds of metal products in 2006. As it was mentioned at the meeting, they have to pull through considerable difficulties connected with cooking coal and coke import from Russia, because the specialists of “Ukrcoke” expressed their apprehensions about the quality of purchasing quality.
Mr Severuk said that besides, the metallurgists and the miners have to coordinate their prices for railway products, as the representatives of different financial-industrial groups do not always manage to get mutually acceptable agreements, As a result domestic enterprises conclude export contracts to supplies iron ore raw materials, raw materials are exported from Ukraine to foreign markets.
Ukraine produced 77 million tonnes of iron ore and 72 million tonnes of iron ore raw materials in 2007. The ore mining enterprises of Ukraine are going to increase the yearly volume of iron ore raw materials by 6.1 million tonnes to produce 38.3 million tonnes of pig iron.
Albania halts operations after deadly blast at Kurum Steel
AP reported that Albanian authorities recently ordered the temporary closure of a Turkish owned steel plant where an explosion killed one worker and critically injured six.
Mr Thoma Mico Labor Inspectorate officials said blast in the town of Elbasan, 55 kilometers, south of the capital, Tirana, was caused by technical defects at the plant's furnace. He said the plant will stay closed until better safety measures are in place.
Initially, police had said the blast at the factory operated by Turkish Kurum Steel Co was caused by an unexploded shell that was accidentally thrown into a furnace with other scrap metal. But an investigation found that the furnace system was defective.
Three technicians two Turks and an Albanian have been arrested on charges of negligence.
Kurum produces up to 400,000 tons of steel annually.
Smart Holding and SCM to merge mining and metal assets
Ukrainian Journal Staff cited Mr Oleksiy Pertin director for strategy and corporate development at Smart Holding as saying that Kiev based Smart Holding and Donetsk based System Capital Management plan to complete the merger of their mining and metallurgical assets by the second half of this year.
He said "The final configuration for the merger will be established in 2008 and we'll present that to the public. We hope to close the deal by the second half of this year."
Zlatoust 2007 steel production up by 5% YoY
It is reported that in 2007 Zlatoust Metallurgical Works produced 623,000 tonnes of steel 105% up against 2006. The works produced 440.9,000 tonnes of marketable rolled products 104.5% up against 2006. Dispatch to customers reached 436,000 tonnes, which is in money equivalent 32% more compared to 2006.
An average monthly steel output at the works exceeds 51,000 tonnes, rolled products 36,000 tonnes. The range of products is becoming more complicated due to decrease in the average weight of the item and shifting towards high speed and highly alloys steels.
In 2007 23 new steel grades were mastered at the works. Results of 100 Best Russian Products and 20 Best Products of the Chelyabinsk Region contests a hollow ingot, a stainless tubular billet and a stainless hexahedron were awarded with diplomas as winners. Besides, the hollow ingot was awarded with a silver medal at Metal-Expo’2007, 13th International Industrial Exhibition in Moscow in nomination Novelty of the Year.
Russian exports of non ferrous metal down
According to related statistics, Russia exported non ferrous metal around 25.026 million tonnes during January to November 2007 decreasing by 4.3% compared to the same period of 2006.
However, its import of non ferrous metal has increased to 5.56 million tonnes up by 37.8% from the same time of 2006.
Moreover, the export of pig iron was 5.184 million tonnes last year, down by 4.1% than the same time of 2006. The part of ferroalloy was 711,800 tonnes rising by 8% from 2006.
Truck maker Ural to boost production by 14% in 2008
Interfax reported that Russian truck maker Ural a member of the GAZ group, plans to boost output 13.6% to 17,900 trucks in 2008.
Ural manufactured 15,751 trucks last year, 58.3% more than in 2006.
Ural was formed from the competitive business lines at Urals Avtomobilny Zavod which completed bankruptcy proceedings in November 2005.
Russian steel export price to Israel up
YIEH reported that Russian steel export prices to Israel have stayed in a high level, and the new prices will be soared by another 10%.
On the other hand, because of the raising scrap price and the strong rebar demand from North America, West Africa and Far East area, it made the rebar price from Commonwealth of Independence States has raised by about USD 120 per tonne in the past four weeks.
Moreover, Russia mills are quoting rebar prices at USD 670 to 710 per tonne for February shipments about USD 120 per tonne higher than in the end of last December.
Atomenergomash and Alstom formalize JV deal
RIA Novosti reported that Atomenergomash, a Russian supplier of equipment for nuclear power plants, and France's Alstom concluded a deal Thursday to establish a joint venture.
Alstom, a world leader in conventional nuclear facilities, has given the new JV, Alstom Atomenergomash, a license to manufacture its Arabelle half speed turbines. Alstom technology is used in more than a quarter of conventional nuclear facilities around the globe.
The JV will produce and sell the turbines and equip with them nuclear power plants being built outside Russia in line with Russian technology. The venture is expected to yield about USD 1.5 billion annually.
Chinese imports Metal squeezes Russian metal out of Trans-Baikal Market
According to customs statistics in January to September 2007 import of metals and metal in Trans-Baikal grew 2.9 times as compared with January to September 2006 to USD 47.9 million. Notably, the growth of this position has been observed for the second year in a row.
Major imported goods include flat roll and bars from iron or non alloyed steel and ferrous metal pipes from China. The share of Chinese metal in Trans-Baikal imports grew to 16.8% from 10.1% in January to September 2006.
The new market tendencies will be under discussion at the First Russian Conference 'Regional Metal Trading in Russia' on February 7-8 in Moscow.
RosUkrEnergo to sell Russian gas to Ukraine to cover Asian shortfall
Natural gas trader RosUkrEnergo co-owned by Gazprom has announced that it would sell Russian gas to Ukraine in January to March to cover a shortfall in Central Asian supplies.
Mr Konstantin Chuichenko MD of RosUkrEnergo recently said that "In January 2008 natural gas deliveries from Central Asia dropped due to the unusually cold weather. The shortfall amounts to about 40 million cubic meters per day."
Mr Sergei Kupriyanov spokesman of Gazprom said that since the start of this month, RosUkrEnergo has delivered around 740 million cubic meters of Russian gas to Ukrainian consumers.
RosUkrEnergo is a Swiss registered company that transports natural gas from Turkmenistan to East European countries. A 50% interest in the company is owned by Gazprom, through its subsidiary, Swiss-registered ARosgas Holding AG and the other half is owned by Raiffeisen Investment AG through its Swiss registered Centragas Holding AG.
