Baosteel Partners with Aramco to Build New Integrated Steel Mill

It has been agreed to set up a joint committee to carry out a feasibility study on constructing a steel plate factory, as a joint venture project.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Baosteel- the Chinese listed steelmaker announced that it has partnered with world’s leading crude oil producing company Saudi Aramco in building a new integrated steel mill in Saudi Arabia. A non-binding memorandum of understanding was signed between the two parties on Tuesday.

It has been agreed to set up a joint committee to carry out a feasibility study on constructing a steel plate factory, as a joint venture project. The mill will produce plates for construction industry and will be based on direct-reduced ironmaking and electric arc furnace (EAF) technology. Furthermore, the facility will boost carbon emission reduction technologies in steel industry.

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Commenting on the project, Baosteel noted that the setting up of the mill will help it to expand its presence in the global steel market. Upon completion, it will be steel conglomerate’s first overseas steel mill. The company had produced 15.65 million tons of crude steel in 2020.

Saudi Aramco had signed a similar joint venture deal with South Korean steel major Posco last year. The tie-ups are in line with the Saudi Arabian government’s ‘Vision 2030’ policy to diversify the country’s economy away from oil.