The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) has announced that it has granted a BRL 449 million (about $252.3 million) credit line to Brazil-based Vallourec e Sumitomo Tubos do Brasil (VSB), to complete the construction of a steel complex in the municipality of Jeceaba, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Accordingly, using state-of-the-art steel technology, the VSB complex will have a crude steel capacity of one million mt per year and a seamless tube plant with extrusion premium quality finishing (PQF®) that will annually produce 600,000 mt of seamless tubes. The tubes will have a high aggregated value and will be exported, serving the demand of the global oil industry. The commissioning of operations is scheduled for 2010.
The VSB plant site is strategically located with easy access to roads, with rail access to the ports of Rio de Janeiro, Santos and Vitória, and is also close to the Pau Branco Mine, an iron ore reserve that belongs to the Vallourec group.
VSB is a joint venture established in January 2007 between French pipemaking group Vallourec and Japanese steelmaker Sumitomo Metals. The joint investment in the plant's construction is estimated at $1.6 billion.