Trinidad's TTIS agrees to buy idled steel plant from ArcelorMittal

(Reuters) - Trinidad and Tobago's TT Iron Steel Company (TTIS) has agreed to purchase an idled iron and steel plant in the country from a unit of Luxembourg-listed multinational ArcelorMittal, the Trinidadian company said on Wednesday.

The purchase agreement comes seven years after ArcelorMittal closed operations in Trinidad following layoffs amid low global steel prices, which have since rebounded. Previous sale negotiations with other potential buyers failed to be completed.

The purchase price was not immediately known. The negotiation for the Point Lisas plant is subject to approval by Trinidad and Tobago's government.

The plant, built in 1980, will be subject to initial refurbishment expected to cost between $150 million and $200 million. The facility's restart would happen in about 24 months, and further investment will be required thereafter, TTIS said.

While about 70% of the world's steel is made using traditional high-emission coal-based furnaces, plants including Point Lisas use electric arc furnaces mainly fed by a combination of recycled steel and direct reduced iron produced from iron ore and natural gas or hydrogen.

The plant has historically used gas, but TTIS plans to transition to green hydrogen in the coming years as it becomes commercially available, the company said.

(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by Leslie Adler)