Foulath Subsidiary, Bahrain Steel, a leading producer, and global supplier of high-grade iron-ore pellets, has partnered with multinational conglomerate Essar Group in the supply of iron ore pellets to the Green Steel Arabia (GSA) project. The Letter of Intent (LOI) signing ceremony was held on Wednesday, 16th August 2023, in Jubail, KSA.

Through this partnership, Bahrain Steel will deliver 4 million tonnes of DR-grade pellets per annum (mtpa) to Essar Group. Bahrain Steel is the only GCC-owned pellet producer and leading supplier of high-quality DR grade pellets to all integrated steel producers in the region.

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Dilip George, Group CEO of Foulath Holding, said: “Bahrain Steel’s LOI with Essar for the supply of 4 million tonnes of DR grade pellets annually is a testament to our commitment to meet the growing demand for DR pellets by the steel industry in the GCC. We are proud to collaborate with Essar Group to support their pioneering project for setting up the first green steel project in Saudi Arabia, where there is a growing focus on sustainable development.”

On his end, Mr. Naushad Ansari, Country Head for Essar Group in KSA, commented: “Essar is looking at investing about USD 4.5 billion in setting up an integrated steel plant in Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia. This LOI, post final contracts being agreed and signed, will secure 50% raw material supply of iron ore pellets for the Saudi Steel Plant. If all goes as planned, we expect commercial production to begin from the year 2027.”

The Essar project is set to be the region’s first Green Steel project aiming to set the global benchmark in the reduction of CO2. The project will have a direct reduced iron (DRI) capacity of 5.0 mtpa, comprising of two modules of 2.50 mtpa each, and 4.0 mtpa hot strip capacity, as well as 1.0 million tonnes of cold rolling capacity along with galvanizing and tin plate lines. In line with the Kingdom’s ongoing demand for steel products and the targets set by the Vision 2030, the facility will cater to all major steel consuming industries including: Construction, Oil & Gas, Automotive, Packaging & General Engineering.