Steel Production Falls 2% in May, Rosneft Signs Oil Deal With Venezuela

Steel production fell worldwide last month as Russia’s top oil producer, Rosneft, expanded exploration to Venezuela and ArcelorMittal USA has lost nearly $300 million since it was created via a merger in 2006.

WSA: Steel Production Fell Last Month

Global crude steel production fell 2.1% in May from the same month a year ago, as output declined in most major producer regions including China, figures from the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) showed on Monday.

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Global crude steel output fell to 139 million metric tons in the month while output in China, which produces half the world’s steel, fell 1.7% to 70 million mt.

Russia’s Rosneft Signs Exploration Deal With Venezuela

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA said this week it has signed investment agreements with top Russian oil producer Rosneft, including a plan to create a joint venture to produce natural gas in the South American country.The venture would include the fields of Mejillones, Patao and Rio Caribe – all part of the large offshore Mariscal Sucre gas project.

ArcelorMittal USA Lost $1.5 Billion

ArcelorMittal – forged through an international merger of steel companies in 2006 – has pumped a huge amount of money into its US operations, but hasn’t seen a profit from it, ArcelorMital USA Flat Carbon President and CEO Andrew Harshaw told the Times of Northwest Indiana.

“Our USA business is not getting a return on its investment,” he wrote in a blog post. “Since 2010, the company has invested an average $1.5 billion per year into our USA facilities in both capital investment and the long-term maintenance of our assets. During those same five years, our USA business lost nearly $1.5 billion dollars, an average loss of $293.8 million per year.”

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