20 August 2014
Metinvest Group’s Avdiivka Coke has been cut off from electricity supply for four days. Operations at its core shops have been suspended. Avdiivka Coke is making every effort to resume operations.
The ongoing armed conflict is preventing electricians from DTEK and specialists from Avdiivka Coke from repairing even one of four necessary high voltage lines. On August 17-18, attempts were made to restore electricity supply, but the repaired high voltage line sections were hit by artillery again.
In order to prevent the destruction of the brickwork of Avdiivka Coke’s eight operational coking batteries, it is necessary to maintain high temperatures inside the batteries. Metinvest Group and the plant’s management have developed special activities to do that. Specifically, a decision was made to urgently connect the plant to the gas distribution network. The plant can use the natural gas to raise the temperature in the coking batteries to the acceptable levels. It will take at least two days to heat the batteries using natural gas. Avdiivka Coke’s prospects for resuming production revival will be clear after electricity supply to the plant is resumed.
“We are sure that we will overcome all of the technical difficulties related to urgently connecting to the gas network,” said Musa Magomedov, general director of Avdiivka Coke. “This will give us time to resolve the main issue – repairing the high voltage power line. I would like to note the courage and loyalty of my colleagues that are working here in Avdiivka to restore production despite the ongoing conflict nearby and mortal danger.”
- For editors:
Avdiivka Coke Plant is Europe’s largest high-tech coking plant. The plant makes 31 types of products. It has customers in Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Georgia, Belgium, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Egypt. Its key products are blast furnace coke, electrode pitch coke, and crude benzene. Avdiivka Coke makes 23% of Ukraine’s bulk coke. The plant produced 3.7 million tons of bulk coke (6% moisture content) in 2012. The plant runs eight coke oven batteries, with a designed capacity of 6.87 million tons of bulk coke per year. The enterprise is self-sufficient in terms of energy resources, including process steam, heating and electricity. Avdiivka Coke produces more than 50% of blast furnace coke with an advanced and environmentally friendly dry quenching process. Avdiivka Coke received a certificate for actively participating in the implementation of environmental policy at the regional level at the “Ecology in an Industrial Region” second international environmental forum by the National Environmental Protection Administration in Donetsk Oblast in 2012. Avdiivka Coke, together with the Shakhtar Football Club opened a football school for children in Avdiivka; the school currently has 60 students.
Metinvest Group is a vertically integrated group of steel and mining companies that manages every link of the value chain, from mining and processing iron ore and coal to making and selling semi-finished and finished steel products. It has steel and mining production facilities in Ukraine, Europe and the US, as well as a sales network covering all key global markets. Its strategic vision to become the leading vertically integrated steel producer in Europe, delivering sustainable growth and profitability resilient to business cycles and providing investors with returns above industry benchmarks. The Group reported revenue of USD 12.8 billion and an EBITDA margin of 18% in 2013. The major shareholders of Metinvest B.V. (the holding company for Metinvest Group) are SCM Group (71.25%) and Smart-Holding (23.75%), which partner in the Group’s management. Metinvest Holding, LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.