French tubular manufacturer Vallourec announced Thursday the inauguration of its new Brazilian integrated steel plant Vallourec & Sumitomo Tubos do Brasil (VSB)--56 percent owned by Vallourec and 44 percent owned by Japan's Sumitomo Metals. The mill is located in Jeceaba, in the Minas Gerais Brazilian state, near Vallourec's other Brazilian operations.
The project was launched in 2007 and will produce steel billets and seamless steel tubes. Construction of the plant began in 2008, is now complete and production is in the start-up phase.
The mill will have two blast furnaces, an electric arc furnace, a premium tube-making facility, as well as heat treatment, threading and finishing lines. VSB will have a 1 million metric ton production capacity, and will serve the international oil and gas markets, largely in West Africa.