Displaying items by tag: Fuel

Angola: Fabrica de Cimento do Kwanza Sul plant may be forced to shutdown on 1 November 2017 due to a lack of Light Fuel Oil (LFO). The plant’s operational director Edmundo Ferreira has blamed the situation on rising fuel prices, according to the Angola News Agency. The company’s management is currently neogotiating with its fuel supplier, which it says has raised the price by 260%. The plant has a workforce of 140 employees.

India: UltraTech Cement has blamed a drop in its profit on rising fuel prices. Its net profit fell by 31% year-on-year to US$65m in the second quarter of its financial year that ended on 30 September 2017, from US$94m in the same period in 2016.

Overall the cement producer’s sales revenue has risen by 6.5% year-on-year to US$2.28bn in the first six months of its 2017 – 2018 financial year from US$2.15bn in the same period in the 2016 – 2017 period. Its net profit fell by 5% to US$203m from US$214m. Its sales volumes of cement rose by 8% to 26.3Mt from 24.4Mt. It completed its acquisition of 21.2Mt/yr cement production capacity from Jaiprakash Associates in June 2017. However, no like-for-like financial figures have been released.

Spain: Cementos Cosmos has stopped exports from its Niebla cement plant due to an increase in the price of petcoke. The subsidiary of Brazil’s Votorantim has also implemented a Temporary Regulation of Employment from June 2017 to May 2018 that will enable it to suspend workers or reduce working hours, according to the Huelva Información newspaper. The cement producer says it is waiting for planning permission to install a dosing system for waste fuels that will cut it fuel bill. However, the local community has opposed attempts to use alternative waste fuels previously.

Nigeria: Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, the chairman of the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), has warned that the price of cement may rise if the Naira continues to devalue. He made the comments at the company’s Annual General Meeting according to the Nation newspaper. Imported inputs such as fuel, machinery, spare parts and gypsum would all be affected by local currency depreciation. The cement producer was forced to shut down its Sokoto cement plant for intermittent periods in late 2015 due to poor supplies of low pour fuel oil (LFPO) from the Kaduna refinery.

The subsidiary of BUA Group reported that its turnover fell by 14% year-on-year to US$41.4m in 2015 from US$48m in 2014. Its profit after tax fell by 37% to US$3.81m from US$6.09m.

Paraguay: Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC) has shut down its clinker kiln for 30 days to start work on a fuel upgrade project. The US$45m project is intended to allow the kiln to use other fuels as well as the fuel oil it currently uses. A further 90-day stoppage period has been scheduled for mid-2016. The project is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

INC’s president Jorge Mendez has reassured the public that the cement supply from his plant will not drop during the maintenance period. INC will continue delivering between 50,000 - 55,000 bags/day. The firm has 86,500t of clinker in stock. In addition the government will also import 200,000t of cement to maintain levels. INC is the country’s sole integrated cement plant.

Nepal: The Hetauda Cement plant has started producing cement again following the lifting of an unofficial fuel blockade by India. The plant was shut after it could not import coal from India in the autumn of 2016. Hetauda resumed production on 11 February 2016, according to the Katmandu Post. Factory officials say the plant lost US$0.9m during the enforced closure.

Nepal: Cement producers have suggested that consumers wait for cement prices to fall before they build new homes. Bishnu Prasd Neupane, managing director of Jagadamba Cement, made the comment at a forum organised and reported upon by Nepal Republic Media. He said that end users could benefit from the fall in the international price of crude oil. A drop in fuel prices is expected to cut transport and production costs. Overall, the price of construction materials could drop by 20%.

Tara Prasad Pokharel, general secretary of Cement Manufacturer's Association Nepal (CMAN), asked customers not to pay more than a transportation cost of more than US$1.4/bag or more than 20% dealer costs on top of factory prices. The retail price of cement has increased by more than 50% due to high transportation costs caused by fuels shortages.

"The price of diesel is expected to come down to US$0.55/litre from US$0.69/litre. It will obviously lower our cost of production," said Pashupati Murarka, promoter of Arghakhanchi Cement and also the president of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI). Use of diesel-run generators increases the price of cement by around US$0.74/bag at current oil prices. Use of the country's national grid increases is also expected to cut the cost of production significantly.

Germany: Joule, a producer of liquid fuels from recycled CO₂, and HeidelbergCement have announced a partnership to explore the application of Joule's technology to mitigate carbon emissions in cement manufacturing. A successful partnership between Joule and HeidelbergCement could result in the co-location of Joule's Helioculture Technology at one or more HeidelbergCement sites around the world.

Since 1990, HeidelbergCement has worked to decrease its carbon emissions, initiating various programmes across the organisation that have reduced emissions by 23%. HeidelbergCement said that its partnership with Joule represents another example of its sustained dedication to leveraging innovative technologies and programmes for climate protection. As part of the agreement, emissions from various HeidelbergCement plants could provide Joule with the waste CO₂ required to feed its advanced Helioculture platform that effectively recycles CO₂ back into fuel.

"We've been focused on lowering carbon emissions for more than two decades and we are excited to take further steps to lower our CO₂ emissions by working with a dedicated organisation with state-of-the-art technology that is committed to protecting the climate," said Jan Theulen, Director of Alternative Resources at HeidelbergCement. "Joule's process, which effectively recycles waste CO₂ into liquid fuels, is a perfect match for HeidelbergCement and our core values and we look forward to starting the journey towards a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship."

Joule's Helioculture process directly and continuously converts sunlight and waste CO₂ into infrastructure-ready fuels, including ethanol and alkanes that serve as highly blendable feedstock for diesel and jet fuel products. Only requiring abundantly available inputs, including sunlight, brackish or sea water and waste CO₂, the process is well suited for global deployment. For organisations like HeidelbergCement, Joule turns a carbon challenge into a carbon solution by capturing and recycling waste CO₂.

"Carbon emissions are a challenge faced by many industries that are of critical importance to everyday life, such as cement," said Brian Baynes, CEO of Joule. "We are pleased to have the opportunity to partner with HeidelbergCement in an attempt to develop a modern, ultra-low carbon cement manufacturing process."

Oman: Raysut Cement Company has signed an agreement with Arabian Industries for the installation of a gas pressure reduction station (GPRS) at its Raysut plant. Oman Gas Company has been appointed as the Project Management Consultant. Upon completion of the GPRS, cement production will be boosted by 120,000-130,000t/yr. Total investment in the project is estimated at US$5.45m.

Egypt: Investments worth US$30bn in the coal industry are expected to be conducted within the next five years, according to Egypt's investment minister Ashraf Salman.

Salman said that there is 'full coordination' between the ministries of environment, electricity and investment to adhere to international environmental standards when using coal. Egypt's cabinet announced new rules on coal use in April 2015, which stipulate that coal imports can only take place after approval from the ministry of environment. The new rules are an amendment to a law on environmental affairs and allow the use of coal for cement, iron and steel, coke and aluminium production and in power plants.

Salman said that using coal as an energy source would decrease the dependency on natural gas as a primary energy source and petroleum products in steel and cement production. Despite the energy crisis, which has caused frequent and numerous power outages for years, the cabinet's approval of new coal use has caused controversy both within the government and outside.