Displaying items by tag: Fuel
INC Vallemi cement plant paralysed by fuel shortage
31 July 2018Paraguay: Industria Nacional del Cemento’s (INC) Vallemi cement plant has been paralysed by a coke shortage. All operations at the unit’s clinker kiln have been suspended, according to the Ultima Hora newspaper. The producer is still making cement deliveries but its clinker stocks have fallen to below 30,000t. The company reportedly only has fuel oil left for one day and sufficient coke for one day of full operation. It is awaiting the arrival of a 6000t consignment of coke.
Sudan: Fuel shortages and power cuts have reduced cement production by half. The Atbara Cement Plant reduced its production to 60,000t/month from 120,000t/month, according to Radio Dabanga. Production fell to 20,000t/month from 60,000t/month at Alsalam Cement, to 32,000t/month from 80,000t/month at El Takamol Cement, to 50,000t/month from 120,000t/month at North Cement and to 30,000t/month from 70,000t/month at Berber Cement. Parts of the country experienced fuel shortages in 2017 and this has continued in 2018, leading to problems far various industries.
Pakistan cement producers ask government to raise import tariffs
02 February 2018Pakistan: The local cement industry has asked the government to increase the custom duty on imported clinker to support local production as export rates continue to decline. The industry has also recommended that cement importers should be registered with the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) and country of origin bodies, according to the Nation newspaper. Falling exports in Afghanistan have been blamed on Iranian competition and high local energy costs.
Angolan cement plants to buy fuel from Luanda Refinery
07 November 2017Angola: Manuel Tavares de Almeida, the Minister of Construction and Public Works, says that cement plants will be able to buy heavy fuel oil (HFO) from the Luanda Refinery. The announcement follows fuel shortages in the country that have led to the Fabrica de Cimento do Kwanza Sul and Luanda Cemento plants being shut, according to the Angola Press Agency. The minister said he had received assurances from the refinery that HFO would be supplied to the cement industry.
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.
UltraTech Cement’s blames profit drop on fuel prices
19 October 2017India: 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.
Hetauda Cement plant reopens after fuel blockade lifts
17 February 2016Nepal: 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.