26 August 2025

Norway: TotalEnergies, Equinor and Shell have announced that the first CO₂ volumes were transported by ship from Heidelberg Materials’ Brevik cement plant to Northern Lights’ Øygarden facilities. They were then injected 2600m under the seabed, 100km off the coast of western Norway. Phase one of the project has a storage capacity of 1.5Mt/yr. A second phase, approved in March 2025, will expand capacity to more than 5Mt/yr from 2028.

TotalEnergies’ senior vice president of carbon neutrality Arnaud Le Foll said “With the start of operations of Northern Lights, we are entering a new phase for the CCS industry in Europe. This industry now moves to reality, offering hard-to-abate sectors a credible and tangible way to reduce CO₂ emissions.”

Algeria: Biskria Ciment has exported 28,000t of white cement to the US from the port of Annaba aboard the M/V Anhui, according to the Annaba Port Company via L’Expression newspaper. The exports continue despite a 30% US customs duty on Algerian imports.

The company said it is maintaining shipments by leveraging the quality and price competitiveness of its cement.

India: Star Cement subsidiary Star Cement North East has been named preferred bidder for the Parewar (SN-IV) limestone block in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The 960-hectare block holds an estimated 271Mt of limestone. The company said the mining lease will strengthen its long-term raw material security once clearances and agreements are completed.

Star Cement operates 7.7Mt/yr of cement grinding capacity and 6.1Mt/yr of clinker capacity.

El Salvador: Data from the Central Reserve Bank (BCR) showed apparent cement consumption rose by 30% year-on-year in May 2025 to 4.8m 42.5kg bags, from 3.7m bags in May 2024, according to local press. The figure was the country’s highest monthly consumption in five years. Consumption from January to May 2025 reached 21.4m bags, up by 17% year-on-year from 18.4m bags in the same period of 2024.

From January to June 2025, imports of hydraulic cement totalled 0.3Mt, worth US$26m, up by 41% year-on-year from 0.21Mt in the same period of 2024. Guatemala was the leading supplier at US$12.7m, followed by Vietnam (US$6.6m), Japan (US$2.8m), Honduras (US$1.4m) and China (US$1.3m).

Canada: MV Tamarack arrived at the Port of Montreal on 22 August 2025, completing its maiden voyage and becoming the first newly built cement carrier to serve the Great Lakes in 20 years. The 12,500t vessel, owned by Eureka Shipping, a joint venture between CSL and SMT Shipping, was delivered on 23 July 2025 at Holland Shipyard in the Netherlands. The ship replaces two older vessels, offering the same capacity and reduced environmental impact, according to the company. MV Tamarack has a 10,700m³ cement hold, diesel-electric propulsion, shore-power compatibility, biofuel capability and energy-saving cargo systems.