State-run steel maker, Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has signed an initial pact with Oman Oil Co to jointly set up a 3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) gas-based steel plant in Oman at an investment of around Rs 15,000 crore. The final agreement with Oman Oil Co is likely to be signed within the next six months, after which, it will take 2-3 years for the plant to be operational.
The plant would use gas based DRI technology for making both flat and long products. Oman consumes around 4 million tonnes of steel in a year. However, steel-making capacity is under 1 million tonnes.
The shareholding pattern of the proposed venture is yet to be decided however, the majority of the stake would be with SAIL.
SAIL has already embarked on an Rs 70,000 crore expansion plan to enhance its domestic production capacity from 14.35 mtpa to 23.46 mtpa by 2012-13.
