Venezuelan hot-briquetted iron producer Briqueteras de Venezuela, or BriqVen, is expecting to ship around 33,000 mt of HBI shortly, sources within the company said Friday.
"We have sold two cargoes so far during the year, and the third one is loading around 33,000 mt," one source said. Another confirmed the volume.
Further details were not available.
As of March, a European trading company was expecting to soon start exporting shipments of BriqVen-produced HBI, a source with the trader said then.
The source said the trading company had procured pellet from Venezuelan producer Sidor and would work with BriqVen to produce HBI for shipment. It was not clear how long the arrangement would last, and the source could not be reached Friday for details. The source had previously said cargoes would go out in May and June.
S&P Global Platts at the start of this month assessed Venezuelan HBI export prices at $200/mt FOB for July bookings, based on a range of $190-$210/mt of bids, offers and deals. This was up from the assessment for June of $195/mt, based on a range of $190-$200/mt FOB. Most Venezuelan HBI cargoes ship to Europe, with Mexico as a second destination. Shipments to the US resumed in May, after halting for several years.
BriqVen's output during the first half of the year totaled around 70,000 mt, Platts reported previously. BriqVen's 2016 output was only around 50,000 mt. It has 125,000 mt/month of installed capacity at its facility, located in the city of Guayana.
