Portuguese long steel producer SN Seixal, part of Grupo Megasa, says it is starting annual maintenance work. This was initially scheduled for the summer but was brought forward due to the forced stoppage of production on high energy costs, Kallanish learns.
Megasa stopped operating the SN Seixal and SN Maia plants on 5 March. The two facilities are the largest consumers of electricity and gas in Portugal.
It is understood that the production shutdown will have no impact on the workforce as most employees have been granted vacation.
“The worsening of the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine and the consequent strong impact on the prices of electricity and natural gas led Megasa to suspend the steel activity in Seixal and Maia as it was economically unviable,” comments Megasa. Rolling lines will continue to run normally as the company claims to have enough billet in stock.
Megasa proposed to the Portuguese government the adoption of extraordinary measures for the contracting of energy. These include distributing the energy acquired by the Supplier of Last Resort (CUR) to producers of the special regime and energy-intensive consumers.
“With the support of national and European institutions and using mechanisms such as the one proposed, Megasa considers it possible to maintain its activity, which represents 700 direct jobs, 3,500 indirect jobs and exports equivalent to €1 billion per year,” the firm comments.
The Seixal and Maia operations produce wire rod, rebar and welded mesh.
Todor Kirkov Bulgaria
