Saudi Aramco, Baoshan Iron & Steel
Co., Ltd. (Baosteel), and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) have signed a
shareholders’ agreement to establish an integrated steel plate manufacturing
complex in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Subject to customary regulatory
approvals and closing conditions, the joint venture complex will be located in
Ras al-Khair Industrial City, one of the four new Special Economic Zones
recently announced by Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown
Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development
Affairs. This would be Saudi Arabia’s first steel plate production facility.
The project aims to enhance Saudi
manufacturing sector through localizing the production of heavy steel plates,
transferring knowledge and creating export opportunities. The facility is
expected to have a steel plate production capacity of up to 1.5 million tons
per year. It would also be equipped with a natural gas-based direct reduced
iron (DRI) furnace and an electric arc furnace, which aims to reduce CO2
emissions from the steel-making process by up to 60% compared to a traditional
blast furnace. The DRI plant would be compatible with hydrogen without the need
for major equipment modifications, potentially reducing CO2 emissions by up to
90% in the future.
SeAH CSS
On February 2, 2023, Saudi Arabia – King Salman Energy Park (SPARK) disclosed
the groundbreaking of SeAH Gulf Special Steel Industries’ (SeAH GSI) new
production facility. SeAH GSI, a joint venture between the Saudi Arabian
Industrial Investments Company (Dussur) and South Korean steel manufacturer –
SeAH CSS, is building the first of its kind stainless-steel seamless pipes and
tubes production facility in Saudi Arabia. The new facility, which is valued at
almost SAR 900 million (circa US$ 240 million), will span almost 178,000 square
meters and will have the operating capacity to produce 20,000 tons of seamless
pipes & tubes per annum.