Global Cement News
Search Cement News
Iran breaks US monopoly in deepwell cement plug production 13 January 2016
Iran: Iran's Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI) has announced that it has broken a US monopoly in the production of deepwell cement plugs.
Previously, only American companies manufactured the plugs used for solving numerous deepwell problems like lost-circulation, sidetracking or directional drilling, according to RIPI. "The technology is of great significance in oil and gas drilling projects," said Talat Khalkhali, Director of a project to develop the technology at RIPI. She said that the plugs are used to inject wellbore fluids and slurries during cementing operations in order to prevent them from mixing together. "Sidetracking incurs serious costs on cementing operations and the new plugs help reduce the cost to a considerable proportion," said Khalkhali, while adding that properly placing the designed cement plug helps reduce non-productive rig time, minimises wasted material and mitigates the need for additional cementing services.
National Iranian South Oil Company tasked RIPI with carrying out studies for developing and formulating the plugs by employing domestic experts in 2010. RIPI reverse-engineered cement plugs produced by top producers in the US and could manufacture them after six years of consecutive work. The high pressure, high temperature (HPHT) plugs can be used for wells up to 4500m deep. According to Khalkhali, their American rivals can only be used for up to 2500m deep wells.
The Iranian plugs have been tested several times at numerous wells across the country at various depths and have proven successful.
Orcem Americas’ plan to build cement mill meets opposition 13 January 2016
US: Irish cement maker Ecocem's US subsidiary, Orcem Americas, has been accused of attempting to influence the planning process in Vallejo, California, where it wants to build a US$50m grinding mill. The mill would be the group's first venture in the US. However, the town's residents are objecting to the proposal on environmental grounds.
The company recently found itself at the centre of a row over its involvement with an unofficial economic committee of Vallejo's city council that some local politicians and campaigners say could potentially breach California law.
Orcem is represented on the Mare Island Straits Economic Development Committee, which is made up of local council members, state officials and private sector interests. Its involvement in the committee, alongside the city's Deputy Mayor, Jess Malgapo, at a time when it was seeking permission to build its facility at a sensitive site in Vallejo, sparked anger among the project's opponents. Some of them have claimed that its activities have potentially breached the Brown Act, a California law that guarantees the public's right to attend and take part in meetings of local councils and legislative bodies. However, the councillors involved, including Malgapo, deny the act was breached, saying that the committee was established to aid the city's economic development and not to pass legislation.
UltraTech may buy stake in Kenya’s ARM Cement 12 January 2016
Kenya/India: UltraTech Cement Ltd may buy a controlling stake in Kenya's ARM Cement Ltd. ARM announced on 23 December 2015 that it was in talks with an unidentified institutional investor about a US$125m investment.
Indonesia: ABB, a power and automation technology group, has won an order from Tianjin Cement Industry Design & Research Institute Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Sinoma Group, for a variable-speed drive solution for a dual pinion ball mill at the PT Semen Bosowa Maros cement plant in Indonesia.
The equipment will be delivered in March 2016 and commissioned in the third quarter of 2016. ABB was selected for that project because the end customer is satisfied with earlier deliveries for the first cement grinding line at the plant, including a gearless mill drive (GMD) and a vertical mill with ABB slip ring motors.
"ABB's solution was favoured for several reasons, not least because of the high level of efficiency offered by the permanent magnet motors used and the absence of a gearbox in the system, which maximises availability and reliability," said Rachid Hamdani, Project Director of PT Semen Bosowa Maros.
This will be the first drive system for a grinding application with permanent magnet motors in this power range. The solution has the highest efficiency among all variable-speed drive systems and will raise productivity at the plant, while minimising electricity consumption.
CRH enters race to buy Lafarge India 12 January 2016
India/Ireland: CRH has decided to bid on the 11Mt/yr of cement assets up for sale by Lafarge India, according to local media. This follows CRH's acquisition of US$7bn of assets from Lafarge and Holcim in 2015 that were available as a result of their merger.
CRH is already present in India via its 50% stake in My Home Industries (MHI), which has 4.8Mt/yr of cement production capacity. In 2013, MHI acquired Sree Jayajothi Cements, which has 3.2Mt/yr of production capacity in the south of India.