Venezuela’s state-run steelmaker Sidor has resumed steel output at its No. 1 blast furnace this week, following months of halt due to electricity problems.
Sidor hasn’t produced steel since January, as it has been affected by the lack of feedstock and a crisis hitting the nation’s electric system. In March this year, Sidor told SteelOrbis that it was waiting for a government decree that could allow it restart operations.
Sidor was expected to resume operations on March 1, as the steelmaker had already received feedstock to run its mill. However, the low levels of the Simon Bolivar hydroelectric dam, or the Guri dam, prevented the steelmaker from resuming operations.
The Guri dam has reached water levels of less than six meters, causing scarcity of water in Venezuela. Both billet and slab output at Sidor were then halted due to the government’s decree.
By restarting billet output, Sidor expects to reach production levels of 300,000 mt/month of liquid steel output in the mid-term. The company also expects to restart its No. 5 and No. 6 slab furnaces, but didn’t give a timeline to do so.