Jindal Shadeed Celebrates A Decade Of Operational Excellence
The MIDREX® Plant owned and operated by Jindal Shadeed Iron & Steel LLC (Jindal Shadeed) in Sohar, Oman, was started up four months ahead of schedule in December 2010, and is the first MIDREX Plant equipped with the HOTLINK® System for direct charging hot DRI (HDRI) into a close-coupled Electric Arc Furnace (EAF).
The plant has a rated annual capacity of 1.5 million tons (Mt) and is equipped with briquetting machines that allow HDRI to be made into Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) for export or temporary stockpiling when the adjacent steel mill does not require material. Since 2017, Jindal Shadeed has equaled or exceeded its annual capacity and has produced a cumulative total of more than 15 Mt of HDRI and HBI despite limited natural gas availability for most of its first 10 years.
Following a shutdown for major maintenance and improvements in 2018, and with increased natural gas availability, Jindal Shadeed established a new annual production record in 2019 (16.5% more than rated capacity). The plant operated 8,245 hours in 2019 at an average of 212 tons per hour and twice broke monthly production records. A major portion (~89 %) of its annual production was consumed as HDRI in the Jindal Shadeed steel shop.
In 2020, the plant operated 15.4% above rated capacity and just 1% short of its 2019 record. Jindal Shadeed operated 8,389 hours in 2020, and set a new monthly production record in March. The major portion (~93 %) of its annual production was consumed as HDRI in the adjacent steel shop.