India's Jindal Steel flags operational disruption due to fuel shortage
India's Jindal Steel said on Friday that it was operating its plants at a lower?capacity due to fuel shortages as a result of the Middle -East war.
In an exchange filing, the company said that "multiple processes in our plants have suffered adversely due to the heavy dependency of stainless steel manufacture on industrial gases like propane/LPG and natural Gas."
India's crude, LPG and liquefied gas supplies were disrupted by a'shipping constraint' after Israel's and the U.S.'s war against Iran stopped traffic through 'the Strait of Hormuz'. This forced India to look for alternatives, such as buying more LNG from Russia.
Gas supplies have also been diverted from the industry to prioritise household consumption.
The company said that "given the restrictions in fuel availability, we are operating our plants at a reduced capacity".
The 'company' also noted additional pressures on supply chains and margins due to disruptions in global shipping routes that caused vessel diverts, longer transit times and cargo delays.
Last week, Jindal Steel, India's largest stainless steel producer, warned of possible delays in shipment.
As reported earlier, scores of small 'Indian steel producers' have warned that production will be cut as the Middle East conflict - which is escalating - disrupts gas supplies. India is the world's second largest producer of alloys after China. (Reporting and editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar in Bengaluru)
(source: Reuters)
