Displaying items by tag: Mazut

Energy has been the theme for a couple of cement news stories of note from Egypt this week. The first concerns the government’s impending plan to centralise distribution of mazut (heavy fuel oil) to cement plants to help them cope with ongoing power shortages. Earlier in the week Cemex signed a deal with the Assiut Governorate to operate a second municipal solid refuse processing unit in the country. The company’s first Regenera facility, in Mahala, started operations in May 2024. Another story from mid-September 2024, along the same theme, covered the inauguration of an 18MW waste heat recovery (WHR) unit at Heidelberg Materials Egypt's Helwan Cement plant.

The wider story is that the country has faced so-called load shedding, or power rationing, since mid-2023 due to falling gas production, rising energy demand and negative currency exchange effects making it harder to buy fuel imports. The power cuts were extended in duration in July 2024 due to a heat wave. The government then said in late September 2024 that it is making investments to prevent domestic power cuts in 2025.

The cement stories mentioned above show some of the ways cement companies cut their energy costs. Two potential ways of doing this are to increase the use of alternative fuels (AF), such as municipal solid waste, or to install a WHR unit. Titan Cement, for example, reported AF thermal substitution rates of above 40% in Alexandria and above 30% in Beni Suef in the first half of 2024. The local press hasn’t reported power shortages amongst the country’s cement producers, but the plans to control the distribution of mazut suggest that either ‘something’ has happened or the government is trying to avoid ‘something.’ Readers may recall that producers have periodically faced step changes in power supplies over the years. In the mid-2010s, for example, lots of plants switched from heavy fuel oil and gas to coal. The energy price fluctuations following the start of the Russia - Ukraine war in 2022 then saw the price of coal rise.

However, what the foreign-owned producers have complained about in the first half of 2024 is the declining exchange rate of the Egyptian Pound. Cementir, Cemex and Titan Cement all noted this. However, Titan reckoned that International Monetary Fund and European Union investment had actually eased the economic situation in the first half of the year leading to an increase in the number of large construction projects.

One effect of the currency problems upon the cement market has been a focus on exports. At the start of September 2024 the Federation of Egyptian Industries said that national cement consumption in 2024 was expected to drop by 4% year-on-year to 45Mt. However, exports were projected to rise to 15Mt. The first and second most popular destinations so far in 2024 have been the Ivory Coast and Ghana. Yet, exports to Libya, the third biggest external market, may have had the biggest effect. These have been blamed for creating a shortage of trucks that was causing delays to the local construction sector. The round-journey from Egypt to Libya can take up to 12 days. This has left building sites bereft of raw material deliveries because all the trucks are elsewhere! Vicat acknowledged the growing importance of imports for its business in Egypt in its half-year report for 2024. It said that ‘sluggish’ domestic market conditions “were more than offset by growth in cement and clinker volumes for export to the Mediterranean and Africa regions.”

The wider picture of the cement sector in Egypt remains one of overcapacity with integrated capacity estimated above 70Mt/yr. The government introduced cement production quotas in mid-2021 and this stabilised prices (and profits). The recent state of the local economy may have strained this, but the latest round of external investment appears to have buoyed things for now. Although the effects of the Israeli military action in Lebanon may have unforeseen consequences upon neighbouring markets. In the meantime, cutting energy costs and growing exports offer two ways for producers to raise their profits.

Egypt: Starting in October 2024, the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources will centralise distribution of mazut to cement plants to ensure continued operations amidst the country's power shortages. Deputy PM Kamel El Wazir announced the plan, responding to requests from cement producers for a reliable fuel supply to maintain the stable production and distribution of cement.

Cement plants are required to submit a report on quarry material prices over the past three years, highlighting price increases and their impact on the industry. The Cement Division of the Building Materials Industry Chamber also requested consistent export support payments, the extension of investor rights to quarry resources, and the testing of pozzolanic cement for standard compliance.

Egypt: Suez Cement plans to spend US$77m to convert its Helwan and Torah cement plants to use coal and refuse derived fuel (RDF), according to local media. The Kattameya and Suez cement plants were converted in 2015.

The company intends to start the conversion process in February 2016 at Helwan and July 2016 at Torah. The upgrade is expected to take 12 - 18 months. Subsequently both plants would use 70% coal for their energy. Helwan Cement will supplement this with 20 – 25% RDF and 5% natural gas. Torah Cement will use 30% heavy fuel oil. These conversions are expected to reduce the company's operating costs.

Egypt: South Valley Cement (SVCC) has said that the investments needed to use coal as an energy source will accost US$19.8m. Subsequently, the company is preparing other energy options.

SVCC said that it would be 'indifferent' if the government decided not to follow through with the coal usage plan, as it could rely on mazut, a low quality fuel oil, in addition to gas, in order to produce cement. The company added that the availability and sustainability of energy sources remains the biggest challenge it faces.

SVCC company officials said that the application of alternative energy sources suggested by the government will take at least 12 months. "The use of coal will allow the company to reach 100% of its production capacity," SVCC's Samar Abd Al-Gawad said. She added that despite the fact that the use of agricultural wastes is 'great,' its percentage in the energy mixture cannot exceed 15 - 20%. "The challenge that the company faces in the use of agricultural wastes is that the market is not consistent and the products that are used as wastes, such as the linen seeds and corn cobs, are seasonal."

SVCC has applied for licences for coal usage and agriculture waste and is awaiting approval from the Ministry of Environmental Affairs. Investing in the usage of agricultural wastes could cost around US$283,000.

The company is seeking to double its production capacity and is currently constructing two new cement plants, which are expected to be complete within 17 months. "The first plant will increase the production capacity by 1.5Mt/yr," said SVCC's consultant Ashraf Salman. "When the company receives its coal license it will increase its production to reach 3Mt/yr."

The company plans to increase its production capacity to reach 3.75Mt/yr by 2017. "The expansion will not only be in increasing the production lines but in looking for acquisition deals of parts or full shares of other cement companies," Salman added. SVCC operated at 70% of its full production capacity in 2013 'due to the energy shortages and the applied curfew.' The company exported around 80,000t of cement during the year.

Egypt: Omar A Mohanna, Chairman of Suez Cement, has announced that the company intends to alter its energy mix to use 20% of its energy from waste recycling and 80% from coal during 2014. He added that the Ministry of Environmental affairs has not announced its position on the use of coal, according to AlAhram News. Previous energy supply shortages have reduced production at Suez Cement to 50%.

In related news, the CEO of the Misr Beni Suef Cement Company revealed that his company has received an official letter from the Egyptian government informing the company that the natural gas supply to their facilities will be completely cut in May 2014. The letter added that the government will supply enough Mazut to the company to operate one production line.

Egypt: Minister of Trade and Industry Mounir Abdel Nour has announced that cement companies can start using coal from September 2014. He added that using coal will save 12.7Mm³/day of natural gas.

In a separate announcement, an official source at the Petroleum Ministry said that the amount of natural gas supplied to cement factories during January and February 2014 dropped by 35% from contracted levels. Total natural gas and mazut (heavy duty fuel oil) levels fell by 23% during the same period. During the second half of 2013 the amount of natural gas supplied fell by 17% from contracted levels with compensation from the use of mazut.

Egypt: Several Egyptian cement producers have reported how they are coping with gas shortages in the country. Production at South Valley Cement has stopped. The company has announced that the gas supply will resume on 28 June 2013. Alexandria Portland Cement has reported that its plant has not stopped production. Its subsidiary, Beni Suef Cement, has reported that it cannot yet assess the impact of the shortage on production.

The National Cement Company has announced that operations are ongoing on a normal basis and that there are no shortages in gas capacity. Misr Cement Qena has said that its cement plants are operating using Mazut and not natural gas. However, due to a shortage in the supply of Mazut, clinker production has been suspended more than once recently.

Egypt: Jose Maria Magrina, chief executive officer of Arabian Cement Company (ACC), has asked the Egyptian government to help cement producers move to using coal and alternative fuels. In an announcement Magrina explained that ACC is ready to substitute all the natural gas used at its 5Mt/yr cement plant in Ain Sokhna to coal and refuse derived fuel (RDF) and had applied for the necessary government permits to do so on 14 March 2013. However until late May 2013 no answer had been received from the government.

"The investment needed to substitute natural gas or mazot (heavy duty fuel oil) with coal ranges from US$6-8m/Mt, while converting to RDF costs around US$8-12m/Mt. However for private companies to be encouraged to commit to such a huge investment, the government should look into incentivising this initiative by putting together a solid policy that includes governmental support," commented Magrina.

Magrina added that the government should remove the operating license fee imposed on new companies, as this was intended to cover the cost of subsidised natural gas, and that it should be granted an environmental permit. ACC is still waiting for the permit to use coal, which will replace 70% of its gas supply. Once the company is granted the permit, it will be ready to make the conversion by the fourth quarter of 2013.

Since February 2013, energy shortages have caused the cement industry in Egypt a loss of 20% (3.7Mt) in production capacity, while ACC has lost 25% (350,000t) of its cement production capacity in the same period. Losses of over 50% are expected during the summer of 2013. Until late 2010, the Egyptian government encouraged cement producers to switch to using natural gas. However, the current energy crisis has seen the government promote the use of coal and alternative fuels instead.