Kiev, March 1 - Neftegaz.RU. 2 steelmakers in Ukraine have placed their plants in conservation mode.
This comes after the country’s invasion by Russian armed forces in the early hours of Feb. 24.
Metinvest Holding announced that it would suspend operations for 7 days throughout its hot end at the Azovstal plant as well as at the plant’s coke shop.
Azovstal’s plate mill as well as rail and structural mills will also stop operations.
The group will also halt production at Ilyich Iron and Steel Works’ sinter plant, the hot ends as well as Mills 1700 and 3000.
Any decisions on the plants’ further operations, will stem from how the situation in the country develops.
Azovstal has a crude steel capacity of 5.3 million metric tons per year.
The plant has 5 blast furnaces and two 350-ton basic oxygen furnaces.
Ilyich has 5 blast furnaces, one BOF, and 2 open-hearth furnaces.
One analyst estimated its crude capacity at 5 million metric tons per year.
The site poured 4.26 million tons of crude steel in 2021, up 4.6% year on year from slightly over 4.07 million metric tons, the analyst added.
Azovstal and Ilyich plants are in the port city of Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov, and is in the part of Donetsk region that is under Ukrainian control.
According to a recent Reuters report:
- Capturing it now would let Moscow link Russian-controlled Crimea overland to the separatist enclaves and secure complete control over the coast of the Azov Sea, increasing economic pressure on Ukraine’s government
In addition, ArcelorMittal also said via Twitter earlier on Feb. 24 that it would slow production to a technical minimum at the Kryviy Rih plant.
Furthermore, the steel producer stopped production at its underground mines there.
That plant, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, can produce an estimated 6 million metric tons per year of crude steel via the BF/BOF route.
End-users in Central and Eastern Europe will likely feel the brunt of events in Ukraine.
These companies are large consumers of Ukrainian steel, the trader added.
The current situation in Ukraine also prompted several end-users from Poland to call and say that they were prepared to pay almost any price for steel, regardless of its origin, the trader claimed.
European energy prices also soared on Feb. 24 as TTF Amsterdam gas finished the day at €119 per MWh, up by 1/3 from €88.89.
Prices did touch €140 in the course of trading.
