Displaying items by tag: Oman
Raysut Cement reports progress on Somaliland project
08 November 2016Somaliland: Raysut Cement is set to choose a contractor to build its cement terminal in Berbera. Soil investigation studies have been completed and the company is now about to choose an engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) contractor, according to a recent financial report. Once selected the construction of the plant is expected to take 12 months. The project is a joint-venture with Barwaaqo Cement Company that will build a 12,000t terminal for a cost of US$7.5m.
Oman: Oman Cement’s profit has risen by 39% year-on-year to US$26m for the first nine months of 2016 from US$18.1m in the same period of 2015. Its revenue grew by 12.45% to US$114m from US$101m.
Raysut Cement completes gas pressure reduction unit at Salalah plant
22 September 2016Oman: Raysut Cement has commissioned and completed a gas pressure reduction unit at its plant in Salalah. The upgrade will enable the plant to increase its production capacity to 140,000t/yr from 130,000t/yr. This is expected to increase the profitability of the company. The cost of the project was estimated at US$5.45m when it was first announced in December 2015.
Update on cement industry of Oman
07 September 2016Update on Oman
It’s been an interesting month for the cement industry in Oman with the announcement of various producer projects and a recent market report predicting steady growth in the country.
A late August 2016 sector report from Al Maha Financial Services concluded that government-backed infrastructure projects in the country have pushed cement demand over the production capacity of the two leading local cement producers, Oman Cement and Raysut Cement. The report tempered the good news though with fears that excess production capacity from neighbouring producers in nearby countries would continue to lower prices in Oman. This matches the situation Global Cement found when it visited Oman Cement’s plant in early 2015. Such was the demand-production gap that this producer sometimes imported clinker to keep its supply constant when it shutdown its kiln for maintenance.
Cement production capacity in Oman currently stands at 8.81Mt/yr according to Global Cement Directory 2016 data. The major cement producers hold most of the local market with Oman Cement’s 4.2Mt/yr plant at Rusayl and Raysut Cement’s 3Mt/yr plant at Salalah.
Raysut Cement has announced progress on a number of local projects throughout 2016 including launching a new 20,000t silo at Salalah in May 2016, building a new terminal at the Port of Duqm due to open by the end of the third quarter of 2016, installing a new 150t/hr rotary packing plant with auto truck loader for expected commissioning by the end of October 2016 and it is currently upgrading its gas supply station at Salalah, also to give cement production a boost.
This last project is of particular interest because when Global Cement visited Oman Cement the staff at the Rusayl plant were concerned about the rapidly rising price of natural gas. The plant used gas as its primary fuel and at the time of the interview in January 2015 they were considering diversifying into alternative fuels such as a tyres or using local coal instead. The issue also received a mention in the company’s first quarter report, where it attributed the rise in gas prices to a 26.8% hit in its operational profit taking it down to US$15.6m in the first quarter of 2015.
Meanwhile, both Raysut Cement and Oman Cement are in the process of building a cement plant together at Al Duqm. The latest news on this joint venture emerged in mid-August 2016 when the companies announced that they had registered Al Wusta Cement as the company designated to carry out the project. So far the plant is at the feasibility study stage with further progress to be released at a later date.
Operating in a full-capacity environment will be a dream to many cement producers around the world. However, it is not without its pitfalls from input issues such as gas supply or fighting off external competition who may want a piece of the pie. Oman's construction industry is expected to see growth of 3.4% to US$5.74bn in 2016 backed by government spending. It is there for the taking for the local producers.
Raysut Cement upgrades gas supply station
16 August 2016Oman: Raysut Cement is upgrading its gas supply station at its Raysut plant in Salalah. The installation will let the unit receive an additional 40,000m3/day of gas for use as fuel to increase cement production to about 140,000t/yr.
Other on-going upgrades by the cement producer include the implementation of the parent company’s joint venture project with Barwaaqo Cement Company in Somaliland. At Duqm Port, construction has been completed on the company’s cement handling terminal, which is expected to formally begin commercial operations in the third quarter of 2016.
Civil works on a new packing plant, which features a 150t/hr rotary packing machine with auto truck loader, is underway. The facility is expected to be commissioned by the end of October 2016. Work on the installation of 12,000t capacity silos is also in progress at the company’s Pioneer Cement in the UAE. The new facility will be commissioned by the end of November 2016.
Oman Cement to start joint-venture with Raysut Cement
16 August 2016Oman: Oman Cement has registered a new joint-venture company with Raysut Cement to operate in the Duqm Special Economic Zone Authority. The new Company is named Al Wusta Cement Company and it will set up a new cement plant following a feasibility report.
Oman: Raysut Cement Company’s new cement terminal at the Port of Duqm is likely to start operations in the third quarter of 2016, according to an official at the Port of Duqm Company. Reggy Vermeulen, the port’s CEO, told the Oman Tribune that the unit is currently at the pre-trial stage and the firm and various authorities, including Royal Oman Police, are testing equipment at the facility, including that used for fire-fighting. Once this process is over, trials will take place in the third quarter of 2016 and operations could start in the same quarter.
Oman: Raysut Cement Company (RCC) has recently launched a new silo at its cement plant in Salalah. The storage capacity of the new silo is 20,000t. It has a diameter of 30m and a height of 43m. RCC say it is one of the largest silos in the region.
The silo contains three compartments with a capacity of 3000 - 12,000t. It is designed to hold Ordinary Portland Cement, sulphate-resistant cement and oil well cement. The silo also contains two units for the loading of bulk cement with a delivery rate of 300t/hour. Weighbridges have been fitted beneath the silo to allow direct weighing of bulk cement before it is packed. The new silo will feed a proposed packing plant with 150t/hour of cement. This new packing plant is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2016.
RCC intends to use its new silo and packing plant to target local and international markets.
Somaliland: Raysut Cement, a cement producer based in Oman, has revealed that its project with Barwaaqo Cement Company in Berbera, Somaliland is progressing well. Raysut Cement signed a joint venture agreement with the Barwaaqo Cement Company in September 2014 to build a terminal for packing and distribution of bagged and bulk cement. The terminal will have a storage capacity of 12,000t and will be built with a capital expenditure of US$7.5m, according to the Times of Oman.
Raysut Cement profit drops by a fifth in fourth quarter
12 February 2016Oman: Raysut Cement reported a 21.5% drop in fourth-quarter net profit, according to Reuters’ calculations. The largest cement firm by market value in the sultanate made US$13.4m in the three months ending 31 December 2015, compared with US$17.0m in 2014. Raysut’s net profit for 2015 was US$54.6m, down by 23.6% on the US$71.2m it earned in the previous year.