NLMK delays BOF restart after five-day repairs

NLMK has extended the suspension of production at BOF shop No.2 at its flagship Russian Lipetsk works until 21-23 August to enable additional works on the oxygen distribution unit, the company says in a statement sent to Kallanish.

The BOF shop No.2 was halted after the pipework supplying oxygen to the shop was damaged in an incident on 9 August. The repair works were supposed to take 48 hours, with around 46,570 tonnes crude steel output loss based on its nameplate capacity of 8.5 million tonnes/year in 2020.

The BOF No.2 oxygen supply was eventually reinstated after five days, but the need for further infrastructure enhancements was identified, postponing the full relaunch. The firm is yet to provide full output loss volume.

The newly reconstructed BOF shop No.2 is projected to produce 10m t/year once the equipment and processes are fully established. It has been producing at the initial capacity of around 8.5m t/y thus far this year. Enabled by reconstruction, dust emissions at BOFshop No.2, which produces around 60% of Liptesk’s crude steel, are reduced by 2.5 times.

Katya Ourakova UK