Steel News Roundup (Sep 13)

SHANGHAI, Sep 13 (SMM) - This is a roundup of news in the steel industry for last week.

The State Administration of Mine Safety Supervision carried out special supervision and inspection of outsourcing projects and safety production

In accordance with the requirements of the Notice of the State Administration of Mine Safety Supervision on the Special Improvement of Mine Outsourcing Projects and Safety Production, combined with the implementation of the Measures for the Safety Management of Coal Mines’ Overall Trusteeship (Trial) and the Several Provisions on the Safety Management of Outsourcing Projects in Metal and Non-metal Underground Mines and other relevant regulations, in-depth search for problems in the special rectification of mine outsourcing projects and coal mine safety production will be carried out accordingly to deal with mine subcontracting, illegal subcontracting and subcontracting, for the purpose of ensuring high-quality and safe development under proper supervision.

Yulin City in Shaanxi Province announced that it will investigate and punish Yulin Coal Trading Centre for spreading false information on coal prices

According to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Yulin City was urged by NDRC and the Development and Reform Commission in Shaanxi to conduct an investigation on the spreading of false news on coal prices by Yulin Coal Trading Centre, including verification of relative content and interview with person in charge of the trading centre. After verification, the information released by Yulin Coal Trading Centre contradicted the actual situation. And the company has not obtained an Internet news information license, and has no authority to collect, edit, and publish news information. The investigation team has ordered the company to stop updating and publishing news information about coal prices and market operations, and temporarily shut down two social media accounts operated by the company. Meanwhile, Yulin Coal Trading Centre also promised that it will not release information about the operation of the coal market that does not match the actual situation through any channels in the future.

Jiangsu Province launched a special energy-saving supervision plan for enterprises with an annual comprehensive energy consumption of more than 50,000 mt in 2021

Jiangsu Province launched a special energy-saving supervision plan for enterprises with an annual comprehensive energy consumption of more than 50,000 mt in 2021, including 323 enterprises, 29 pollution and energy intensive projects , and others that commenced production in 2020 (the task list will be issued separately). Enterprises involved are mainly from petrochemical, chemical, coal chemical, coking, steel, building materials, non-ferrous metals, coal power, textile, paper, and wine industries. The supervision period will last from  September 8 to September 30, 2021. Violations of energy-saving laws and regulations found in this special energy-saving supervision plan include failure to fulfil the approval procedures required by laws and regulations, failure to meet the mandatory performance standard, failure to strictly follow the energy-saving review opinions, and illegal use of energy intensive equipment prohibited by the state. Punishments of violations will include those stipulated by laws and regulations,  credit penalties, tiered electricity prices. And those fail to rectify within a specified time will be shut down.

NDRC: the scale of special bond issuance in H2 will be higher than the same period last year

Lu Wenbin, deputy director of the Investment Department of tNDRC and first-level inspector, said at a press conference on the 8th that in the first half of this year, the progress of special bond issuance slowed down compared with last year, but the scale in H2 will be higher than that of the same period last year, which will help stabilise investment growth in infrastructure and other fields. At the same time, the department will make full preparations for next year's special bond projects, accelerate the advancement of the project's preliminary work, and strive for early issuance, early use, and early materialisation of next year's special bonds project.

Green and low-carbon development of the steel industry will accelerate

The Implementation Plan for Carbon Peak in the Iron and Steel Industry and the Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of the Iron and Steel Industry are expected to be officially released by the end of this year. Experts said that there have been major changes in industrial policies such as steel production capacity control, steel product import and export, this year. And the policy focus has gradually shifted from "de-capacity" to "controlling output", aiming to deepen the supply-side structural reform of the iron and steel industry for a stronger industry. With the introduction of the "Plan" and "Opinions", the green, low-carbon, and high-quality development of the steel industry will be accelerated.

Baosteel and Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, planned to jointly build a plant

On September 7, Baosteel and Aramco, the world's largest oil production company, have jointly signed a MoU to jointly construct a world-class full-process heavy plate plant in Saudi Arabia. Both parties have reached an consensus on follow-up feasibility studies and content of the joint work in the future. Baosteel stated that this project is a kep step for the company to actively participate in the construction of the “Belt and Road” initiation and continuously deepen exchanges and cooperation with countries along the route in the fields of equipment, technology, and management. The project mainly includes the construction of a full-process heavy plate plant and related supporting facilities, which are positioned to produce high-end heavy plate products.