ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih PJSC (AMKR, Dnipropetrovsk Region) has reduced output of metallurgical coke at its coke-chemical division by 66.7% in January-November this year compared to the same period last year, to 880 thousand tons.
As a company representative told Interfax-Ukraine news agency, in November the company produced 44 thousand tons of metallurgical coke.
At the same time, in January-November 2022 the gross coke output of 6% moisture at AMKR exceeded 1 mln tonnes, including 51 thnd tonnes in November.
Coke production at ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih in eleven months of 2021 increased by 10% to 2.640 million tons, including 188 thousand tons in November last year.
In 11 months of 2022, the company supplied 1.3 million tons of coal concentrate, including 396 thousand tons of domestic coal, 390 thousand tons from Russia (before war), 65 thousand tons from Kazakhstan, 34 thousand tons from Poland, 15 thousand tons from Czech Republic, 208 thousand tons from USA and 187 thousand tons from Australia. In November, the AMKR supplied 50 thousand tons of coal, including 42 thousand tons of domestically mined coal, 7 thousand tons from Poland.
As earlier reported, in January-November 2022, Ukrainian coke plants reduced the production of gross coke 6% moisture content by 58.1% compared to the same period last year – up to 3.66 million tons. In November they produced 235 thousand tons of gross coke, including 204 thousand tons of metallurgical coke. For 11 months of 2022 metallurgical coke production was 3.14 million tons.
For 11 months of 2022, 4.254 million tons of coal concentrate (11M-2021 – 11.834 million tons), including Ukrainian production – 2.853 million tons, imported from Russia (before war) 623.9 thousand tons, from Kazakhstan (before war) – 65.4 thousand tons, Poland – 36.3 thousand tons, Czech Republic – 38.8 thousand tons, USA – 448.6 thousand tons and Australia – 187.3 thousand tons were supplied to domestic coke plants. Including 308 thousand tons of concentrate supplied in November, including 299 thousand tons of Ukrainian production.
As reported, Ukraine in 2021 decreased coke output by 1.3% compared with 2020 – to 9.543 million tons.
Onur, one of the largest road construction and repair companies in Ukraine, reduced the scope of work by 90 percent in 2022 because of the war and froze the implementation of almost all large-scale road infrastructure projects, Onur Group Ukraine chief coordinator Emre Karaahmetoglu said in a partner interview with NV.
“Despite the war, we still managed to complete some objects: we finished the roads in Khmelnytsky region and sections of the Kiev-Kharkiv highway, which we had been working on since 2019. Both projects were financed at the expense of the World Bank,” Karaahmetoglu noted.
He also said that since the beginning of the war, the company has been expanding accesses to customs points in the west of the country, has been building a new Irpen bridge near Kiev since late May, and is also working in the Kharkiv region after its de-occupation, where it is conducting emergency work to rebuild roads.
Karaahmetoglu added that the company recently won a tender to build three bridges in the Kiev region, which is financed by the British export credit agency UK Export Finance.
According to him, if it were not for the war, the company would have opened a new hotel in the center of Lviv, for which a building was purchased last year and reconstruction began. “After the war, we will quickly complete work on this project,” he pointed out.
The chief coordinator also said that Onur Group had already acquired several land plots in Lviv and Lviv region during the war and was thinking about what projects could be implemented.
Karaahmetoglu noted that the company’s other investment plans in Ukraine include mining, green energy, where Onur already has 150 megawatts from solar plants, and the agricultural sector with processing. “We have a small, about 5 thousand hectares of land in western Ukraine. We plan to double it. And then engage in processing of agricultural products”, – he specified.
The representative of Onur added that before the war the equipment for the development of sand pits in Lviv region and lines for production of bridge beams at the concrete plant in the west of the country were made for the company orders and said that they would be installed immediately after the war.
According to him, Onur also intends to complete such large-scale projects as the construction of the Zaporozhye bridge and the reconstruction of the runway at Dnipro airport after Ukraine’s victory, as well as initiating a project to build the Stryy-Mukachevo toll road, already developing technical documentation for it.
“There is a future for toll roads, they will be in demand after the war is over. In my opinion, this project should be engaged now”, noted Karaahmetoglu.
The representative of the company specified that the fleet of machinery in Ukraine is about 4 thousand units, as well as 20 asphalt plants, 15 concrete plants, 15 enterprises for the production of foundation, but several plants were lost during the war. Onur Group Ukraine currently employs about 2,000 people.
According to the company’s Facebook, it operates in 9 sectors, last year it performed road works in Moldova.
Onur Group is ranked 82nd in the top 250 largest contractors in the world by leading American publication ENR 2022.
Ukrainian park of new trucks and special vehicles in 2021 added 6.9 thousand new cars, which is 2.3 times less than in 2021, says “Ukravtoprom” in Telegram-channel.
Leader in sales of the year, as well as last year, was Renault brand with a drop in sales by 59% – down to 1221 units. Second place went to Mercedes-Benz, the registration of which decreased only by 11% – to 667 units. In 2021, the brand was not in the top five.
Citroen, having lost one position vs. 2021, and having reduced registrations by 71% to 628 units, moved down to number three in the ranking. Fiat moved to #4 (vs. #3 a year earlier) with a 71% drop in sales to 501 makes.
MAN is at the end of the year’s top five, which sales only reduced by 5% – down to 467 units. In 2021 this ranking is occupied by Belarusian MAZ.
“Ukravtoprom notes that in December 2022 registrations of new commercial cars were reduced more than twice in comparison with December 2021 – to 922 thousand units, which, however, almost twice more than in November last year.
The leader of the month was also Renault with 286 cars and an increase of 57% over December 2021, the second place went to Mercedes-Benz – 110 units (+10%), and the third place went to Volvo with an increase in sales of 5,5 times – up to 82 cars.
Also in the top five December brands ranking were FIAT – 62 units (-74%) and Iveco – 54 units (-7%).
As reported, according to Ukratoprom, in 2021, market for new trucks and specialty vehicles increased by 37% compared with the previous year – up to 15.9 thousand cars, including an increase in December by 15% – to 1.873 thousand units.
Oil prices are rising on Thursday after a significant drop in the previous two sessions amid concerns about the prospects of demand.
The cost of March futures on Brent crude at London’s ICE Futures Exchange is $78.75 per barrel by 7:10 a.m. KSC on Thursday, which is $0.91 (1.17%) above the closing price of the previous session. Those contracts fell by $4.26 (5.2%) to $77.84 a barrel at the close of trading on Wednesday.
The price of WTI futures for February at electronic trades of NYMEX grew by that time by $0.87 (1.19%) up to $73.71 per barrel. By the close of previous trading the cost of those contracts fell by $4.09 (5.3%) to $72.84 a barrel.
Oil prices fell by about 9% during the last two sessions due to an increase in COVID-19 in China, which clouds short-term oil demand prospects in that country.
In addition, fears of energy shortages in the global market during the winter, which supported prices in recent months, weakened, given the milder-than-expected winter weather in the U.S. and Europe, notes Bloomberg.
The focus of traders on Thursday is the report on energy stocks in the U.S., which will be released by the U.S. Department of Energy at 18:00 ksec.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) data published a day before showed a 3.3 mln barrels increase of US reserves for the week ended December 30.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky held a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, during which he discussed cooperation in the process of strengthening the Ukrainian air defense system.
“Had a long and detailed conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron regarding the current situation,” Zelensky tweeted.
The head of state said that during the conversation he thanked Macron “for the decision to transfer light tanks and Bastion armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, as well as the intensification of work with partners in the same direction.”
The Ukrainian president stressed that during the conversation the interlocutors also agreed on further cooperation in the process of “significant strengthening” of the Ukrainian air defense system and other defense capabilities.
“We also agreed to work on the implementation of the Peace Formula,” Zelensky concluded.
