Oman steel slab exports increase

Oman has exported more slab so far this year than any other year, despite not producing the material.

Oman shipped 1.53mn t of slab between January and October this year, up from 1.33mn t in the whole of 2022 and just over 700,000t in 2021, according to trade data.

The country does not produce slab, but is often substituted for Iran on documents by traders wanting to secure bank financing — many financial institutions are wary of involvement in Iranian trade because of US sanctions on the country. It imported 32t of slab this year, and 23t last year, so it is not re-exporting slab brought into the country.

Argus has seen numerous documents where Iranian material has been labelled as Omani for financing purposes — vessels often set sail from Oman and then turn off their tracking systems to stop and load at Iranian ports, before heading to their final destinations.

China, Indonesia and Thailand are the biggest buyers of Omani slab, according to customs data — China purchased 609,081t so far this year, followed by Indonesia at 410,400t and Thailand with 325,007t.

By Colin Richardson