Displaying items by tag: agreement

Syria: The Ministry of Economy and Industry has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iraq’s Vertex Investment Group to rehabilitate and expand the Hama Cement plant. The agreement covers the rehabilitation and operation of the plant’s third line, increasing capacity from 3300t/day to 5000t/day of clinker within 13 months. It also includes the construction of a new 6000t/day line, which will raise the plant’s total production capacity to around 11,000t/day over the next five years. The MoU also provides for worker training, application of international quality standards, and compliance with environmental and occupational safety requirements.

Denmark: TotalEnergies, through its subsidiary TotalEnergies E&P Denmark, has signed a Farm-Down Agreement with CarbonVault, the Danish affiliate of German cement producer Schwenk, for the Bifrost carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. Under the deal, TotalEnergies will operate the project with a 45% interest, while CarbonVault will hold 35% and state-owned oil and gas company Nordsøfonden 20%. The Bifrost Project covers two offshore CO₂ storage licenses located about 200km west of the Danish coast and forms part of TotalEnergies’ broader North Sea CCS portfolio. Schwenk has identified Bifrost as its preferred solution for storing future emissions, aligning with its European decarbonisation strategy.

Arnaud Le Foll, senior vice president new business – carbon neutrality at TotalEnergies, said “We look forward to working with our new partner to ensure the successful deployment of the Bifrost Project, a cornerstone of Denmark’s national ambition to establish a European hub for CO₂ storage.”

Completion of the transaction remains subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Saudi Arabia: Southern Province Cement has signed a 25-year solar energy power purchase agreement (PPA) with Tarshid Energy Solutions for its Bisha cement plant. The company said it will pay an average of US$1.07m/yr under the agreement. The solar power will reportedly be purchased at a cost lower than the company’s current electricity supply.

Construction of the solar system will begin on 1 October 2025, with operations expected to start in the third quarter of 2026. Southern Province Cement said that it will not require project funding, as it will not bear any capital or operational expenses. The company did not disclose details on the capacity of the new solar power plant.

US: CRH has finalised its US$2.1bn acquisition of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) supplier Eco Material Technologies. CRH previously announced the agreement on 29 July 2025. It said that the acquisition is expected to ‘unlock significant future growth opportunities.’

South Korea: The Ministry of Environment has announced a pilot project to recycle waste fabric scraps from sewing factories into alternative fuel for the cement industry. The agreement has been signed with: textile companies Pang Rim, Sewang, Sinhan Spinning & Textile; cement companies Ssangyong C&E and Asia Cement; and the Korea Recycling Service Agency (KORA). It expands on an earlier initiative launched in 2024 with four Seoul districts.

Under the project, fabric scraps that were previously incinerated or landfilled will be separated, sorted and processed into intermediate fuel, which cement plants will use in the production process. The Ministry said that KORA will support raw material supply and recycling logistics, while cement firms will adopt the fabric-derived fuel to reduce waste and fossil fuel use.

Kim Go-eung, Director General of the Resources Circulation Bureau, said “The separation, sorting and recycling of waste are essential elements for producing high-quality recycled raw materials. To establish a circular system, we will continue to identify and expand various measures so that the supply of excellent recycled raw materials and the securing of demand sources can be balanced.”

Algeria: The Souakri Group has signed a one-year agreement with a Libyan partner to supply cement by land and sea during the Intra-African Trade Fair in Algiers. The deal is valued at US$51m. Contracts signed at the fair, between Algerian and and other African companies totalled over US$300m, according to local press.

Syria: The General Company for Cement and Building Materials (Al-Omran) has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with UAE-based consultancy A³&Co. to develop a third production line at the Hama cement plant. The deal also covers technical workforce training and designates A³&Co. as strategic advisor to align the sector with global sustainability standards.

General manager of Al-Omran Mahmoud Fadila and A³&Co. CEO Amr Nader signed the agreement in Damascus. It includes reducing the industry’s environmental footprint, studying energy use to raise efficiency, and establishing workshops, evaluation systems and internationally accredited testing centres.

US/Canada: Martin Marietta Materials signed a definitive agreement with Quikrete Holdings to exchange its Midlothian cement plant, related terminals and North Texas ready-mixed concrete assets for aggregates operations with a capacity of 20Mt/yr in Virginia, Missouri, Kansas and Vancouver, and US$450m in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

Chair and CEO of Martin Marietta Ward Nye said “Following a thorough evaluation, we believe that exchanging our remaining cement plant and related ready-mixed concrete operations for core aggregates assets and pursuing accretive bolt-on acquisitions best positions the company for long-term earnings growth.”

US: Amazon and Brimstone have announced successful third-party test results for Brimstone’s lower-CO₂ ordinary Portland cement (OPC), which meets ASTM C150 requirements using Amazon slab mix designs. The companies will continue testing through 2025 and 2026. On the basis of the successful tests, Amazon has signed a commercial agreement to reserve annual volumes of OPC and supplementary cementitious materials from Brimstone’s upcoming plant in Oakland, California.

Chile: cbb (formerly Cementos Bío Bío), has announced a binding agreement to sell all of its shares to Belgium-based producer Carmeuse, which will launch a tender offer for 100% of the shares of the company ‘no later than 13 August 2025’, according to Noticias Financieras. Shareholders representing 64.57% of the shares signed the Agreement to Tender, obliging them to transfer their holdings to Carmeuse subsidiary Carmel Holdings. The offer will value the company at US$505m, equivalent to US$1.91/share.

Carmeuse specialises in lime and limestone derivatives and operates 90 production sites worldwide. The acquisition aligns with its interest in cbb’s lime production through subsidiary Bío Bío Cales, which operates plants in Antofagasta and Copiapó.

The announcement of the sale comes after a race for control of the company at the end of 2024. In December 2024, Peru-based Yura acquired 0.81% of shares through a public offer, increasing its stake to 20.75%. Mississippi Lime Company also submitted a non-binding offer for the company for US$1.89/share in May 2024, but later withdrew.