Metinvest shuts down converter at Azovstal for repairs again

Ukraine’s largest steel producer Metinvest (METINV) shut
down for repairs oxygen converter No. 2 at its Mariupol-based plant Azovstal on
Apr. 15, Interfax-Ukraine reported the same day, citing a local ecology
activist. The shutdown is due to community complaints related to pollution,
which increased substantially in recent weeks, according to Interfax.

Azovstal also plans to shut down converter No. 1 in
September 2018 for a UAH 190 mln maintenance, according to a local Mariupol
news site 0629.com.ua, which cited Metinvest’s press service.

Recall, Azovstal shut down converter No. 2 for planned
repairs as recently as in February. The repairs
lasted a few weeks, and Azovstal’s output was back to normal in March.

Dmytro Khoroshun: Each of
Azovstal’s two converters, which comprise the plant’s entire steelmaking
capacity, are able to produce up to 7.3 kt of steel per day and had recently
been producing at a rate of about 6 kt per day, we estimate.

It is disappointing that Azovstal is repairing the
same converter less than two months since the last maintenance. Nevertheless,
considering the spare capacity at Azovstal and at Metinvest’s other Mariupol plant,
Ilyich Steel, we are keeping unchanged for now our forecast of Metinvest’s 2018
steel output at about 7.3 mmt, or 4-5% less yoy.