Posted on 10 May 2022
Indian private-sector producer Tata Steel plans to set up its first electric arc furnace (EAF) facility in north India's Punjab state and bring on line similar plants in west and south India.
The 750,000 t/yr EAF facility in Punjab will be supported by the company's 500,000 t/yr steel recycling plant at Rohtak in north India's Haryana state that was commissioned last year. Tata also plans to partner domestic auto dismantlers to buy scrap for the facility.
The company said the acquisition of Neelachal Ispat Nigam should be finalised by this current quarter, with the plant operating 80,000-100,000 t/month by the end of the current 2022-23 fiscal year. A 6mn t/yr pellet plant and a pickling line and tandem cold-rolled mill in Kalinganagar will be commissioned by the third quarter.
Major disruptors in the past in the global steel market like China adding significant capacity and exporting high volumes are absent and investments in "green" steel transition will prevent companies selling steel below a certain price level, said Tata chief executive and managing director TV Narendran. Steel consumption will continue to grow on the back of demand from southeast Asia, Africa and other parts of the world, he added.
Tata said its coking coal costs for Indian operations increased by $50/t during January-March compared with the previous quarter. Costs will increase by another $100/t during April-June. The company's net sales realisations for steel in India during April-June will be higher by 8,000-8,500 rupees/t ($103-110/t from theprevious quarter.
Premium hard low-volatile coking coal prices to India on a cfr east coast basis were at $545/t on 5 May, dropping by 22pc since hitting a record peak of $698/t on 11 March but still over 300pc higher from a year earlier.
The current thermal coal shortage in India has created challenges for the company's Bhusan Steel and Tata Steel Long Products plants, although it has not affected operations and the impact on demand has not been significant, the company said.
Tata said last month it will stop buying coal from Russia following the conflict in Ukraine.
Source:Argus Media
