As reported by the newspaper "Kommersant" in the materialEugene Zainullin "at the" Star " rolled metal. Rosneft has achieved the creation of a metal plant in Primorye, " Rosneft has decided to build a metallurgical plant in the far East to provide the Zvezda shipyard with rental services, the company's head Igor Sechin said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Investments in the plant will amount to $ 2.2 billion, and the capacity will be 1.5 million tons of steel and pipe products, of which only a quarter will be processed by the shipyard itself. Previously, the Ministry of industry and trade did not see the point in this production, and metallurgists objected to it, considering the project economically inefficient and redundant.
Ship construction at the Zvezda shipbuilding complex. Bolshoy Kamen (Primorsky Krai), September 2020 (C) SSK Zvezda"
A metallurgical plant with a capacity of 1.5 million tons of steel and pipe products will be built for the Zvezda shipyard in Primorye, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "The shipyard itself will process about 330-350 thousand tons, and new consumers in the region can also use these capacities," Igor Sechin said. The project cost is estimated at $2.2 billion. The plant will be built near Sukhodol Bay, which is located near Bolshoy Kamen Bay, where Zvezda is located. According to Igor Sechin, the feasibility study was prepared by the Chinese MSS International Incorporation. New steel production will also require the construction of additional power facilities.
Zvezda shipyard is to become the first in Russia to be able to build large deadweight vessels, including oil tankers and gas carriers, using the large-block Assembly method.
The issue of providing the shipyard with a sheet was discussed in April 2019 at a meeting with Vladimir Putin. Then Igor Sechin said that for full competition with South Korean manufacturers, a sheet of 24 m long is needed. According to him, a sheet of this size cannot be transported by rail, so the construction of a metallurgical plant is being considered. In December 2019, the head of the Ministry of industry and trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov stated that the option of building a foundry in Primorye is not being considered, but the issue of building a rolling mill-5000 is not removed from the agenda. The Minister has repeatedly stressed that there is no need to build additional capacities, since metallurgical plants can produce steel sheets of the desired format, and special rolling stock can provide its transportation. Kommersant sent a request to the Ministry of industry and trade.
A source in the industry believes that the additional capacity of 1.5 million tons will be excessive for the Russian market.
Another source adds that it will be difficult to find demand for 1.1-1.2 million tons of metal products in the far East, since the shipyard will take only 25% of the output of the future plant.
According to a source in the industry, Zvezda currently buys 10-15% of steel from Russian metallurgists, another 15-20% in China, and the rest in South Korea. However, foreign companies cannot participate in deliveries for the Leader-class nuclear icebreaker laid down on Zvezda. In October 2020, Severstal delivered 1,2 thousand tons of rolled metal for it. The company said in a statement that the order was shipped on inclined platforms for the first time. In addition to Severstal, MMK can also supply large-format steel products. South Korean manufacturers due to convenient marine logistics could give the shipyard favorable offers, says a source of "Kommersant". However, Russian steelmakers still managed to sign contracts due to the weakening of the ruble, and with a premium to export parity.
According to Airat Khalikov, Executive Director of the center for economic forecasting of Gazprombank, the cost of delivery is not a very important factor for steel. Perhaps, the expert says, the new company plans to produce stainless steel or steel products with a special coating. In this case, construction is advisable, since Russia does not have enough such capacities.
