Brazil: Repsol Sinopec Brazil, Ouro Negro and the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Centre of Science and Technology at Rio de Janiero’s Pontifical Catholic University (PUC-Rio) are working together on a through tubing logging profile tool to assess cement quality in lined wells. Arbolas has reported that, where current technologies allow only for observation of anomalies located directly around the tool, the sought-after solution will facilitate detailed recording of the integrity of the adjacent layer. Ouro Negro Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eduardo Costa has described the proposal to incorporate its TTilt technology into the Wellrobot, yielding continuous data feedback and thus reducing well interventions. The companies say that the prospect of reliable seal integrity testing for plugging and abandonment operations on fluid-bearing formations is of enormous economic and environmental import to numerous industries.

Australia: A general labourer and rigger who worked for Macweld Industries, contracted by Adelaide Brighton at its Birkenhead cement plant, is suing the cement company. The Advertiser has reported that the man is seeking damages for Adelaide Brighton’s ‘failure to take reasonable action to minimise risk of injury,’ which allegedly led to the man falling through a hole during upgrade works on the plant in 2016. The man previously received an unspecified sum in worker’s compensation benefits from his erstwhile employer.

UK: Cemex has installed Patol’s Firesense linear heat detection cable (LHDC) at its 1.8Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Rugby. The installation uses a digital interface to monitor a zonal length of LHDC which will detect any overheating in the plant’s lubrication systems.

Philippines: The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has introduced a customs duty on imported cement of US$4.81/t. The Manila Times reports that the measure is subject to annual review and will be in place for three years, decreasing by US$0.48/yr.

The government previously imposed a provisional tariff of US$4.02/t, in spite of protests from Vietnam that any executive action would be in contravention of World Trade Organisation rules. Philippine law allows for the imposition of such measures where an appointed advisory body has determined that increased imports ‘threaten to substantially cause injury to the domestic industry.’

The advisory body in question is the Tariff Commission, who in August 2019 recommended a tariff of US$5.68/t. Secretary of Trade and Industry Ramón López stated that the figure aims to address the threat with minimal impact on buyers. Cement prices in the country hit a low in early January 2019 of US$98.6/t, rising to US$108.25/t after the imposition of the provisional tariff.

Vietnamese producers will be the hardest hit by the price hike, with 75% of the Philippines’ imported cement originating in Vietnam. Asian Review reports that a further 18% comes from neighbouring China and 8% from Thailand.