Earthquake Shutters Eastern Turkey's Cement & Steel Industry

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The earthquakes that struck parts of Turkey and Syria on Monday have brought steelmaking activity in certain regions to a standstill. Industrial Info is tracking offline events at 11 steel mills, cement plants and other facilities in Turkey that were caused by the earthquakes. Steel trading and production have come to a halt in the eastern Turkish region of Iskenderun, according to Fastmarkets.

However, there appears to be no damage to area power plants. Also, construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Mersin Province appears to be unhindered. Construction of the 4,800-megawatt plant began in the second quarter of 2018, with completion planned for the second quarter of 2026. The Akkuyu plant is expected to supply 10% of Turkey's power supply.

Widespread gas and power outages were reported in the region. Botas is restarting operations on the and Kirkuk-Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipeline, which leads to the Ceyhan export terminal on the Mediterranean coast. Flows were halted on Monday morning as a precaution, inspections have been completed and the pipeline is in the process of restarting. It has been reported that there was an explosion in multiple segments of a natural gas pipeline owned by BOTAS Petroleum Pipeline Corporation in the province of Hatay near the village of Topbogaz. BOTAS has suspended natural gas flows to southern Gaziantep, Hatay and Kahramanmaras provinces. The Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline, which traverses Turkey, was unaffected by the earthquakes.

The Port of Iskenderun on Mediterranean Sea in southern Turkey, was shut down after the quake hit causing extensive damage, and a fire broke at a shipping container handling facility. The blaze was extinguished on Wednesday after burning for two days, the Turkish government said. The Ceyhan Crude Oil Storage Terminal in Ceyhan and Kirkuk-Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipeline were shuttered due to the earthquakes.

The earthquakes struck early Monday morning. The number of dead tallied in Turkey and Syria was approaching 12,000, with fears that this figure could greatly increase.

Industrial Info researchers will continue to monitor the impact of the earthquake and report on plant closures in the Disaster Impact Tracker tool as they are confirmed.

Visit Industrial Info's Disaster Impact Tracker often for updates on this and other active storms globally that could impact industrial assets. Click here for more information.

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