Home  UK Projects International Projects Contractor News Industry Moves Contractors' Guides Contractors' Profiles Technical Toolbox Glossary |
Qatar Petroleum and Hydro Plan Aluminium ProjectQatar Petroleum and Hydro are planning to develop one of the world's largest aluminium plants in Qatar. Planned capacity of a first phase is 570,000 tonnes of primary aluminium. Qatar Petroleum is a major producer of natural gas and has contributed to developing several industrial projects in Qatar based on its vast gas reserves. Primary aluminium production will represent a new step in industrial diversification in Qatar. The planned project involves the construction of an aluminium metal plant, anode plant and casthouse, in addition to a dedicated power plant. Production will be based on Hydro's reduction cell technology. The plant will be built in the Mesaieed Industrial Area, south of Doha. The project is planned to reach full capacity during 2009. The project will consist of power generation, primary aluminium production and anode production, as well as a casthouse producing value added aluminium metal products. To serve the aluminium production with required stable supplies of power, approximately 1,000 MW for the first phase, a new dedicated power plant will be constructed. The plant site is sufficient for more than a doubling of the primary aluminium production capacity, up to 1.2 million tonnes per year. The power plant, as well as the primary aluminium plant, will be owned 51 percent by Qatar Petroleum and 49 percent by Hydro. The product casthouse will have the capacity to produce value-added products from all of the pot room metal. Hydro will be responsible for marketing all casthouse products through its global system. The casthouse will be owned 51 percent by Hydro and 49 percent by Qatar Petroleum. The estimated investment for the total project is approximately 3 billion USD. Hydro's share of the investment is estimated to be around 1.5 billion USD. The smelter is projected to have an investment per ton capacity in the region of 4000 USD, comparing favorably to other greenfield projects. The low investment cost per tonne, combined with a long-term, competitive gas contract, will ensure a robust project, exceeding Hydro's profitability targets. Construction is expected to be similar to Hydro's recently completed project in Sunndal, Norway. Hydro is preparing to phase out older Søderberg potlines at its primary aluminium plants in Årdal and Høyanger, Norway, latest by the end of 2006, with approximately 70,000 tonnes annual production capacity, in order to meet future emission standards. Hydro is also reviewing the viability of its primary aluminium plants in Germany, where the anticipated increased costs for electric power and the strong Euro constitute major challenges. Market ProspectsMarkets for aluminium products and solutions are continuing its healthy growth as the metal offers unique benefits in terms of light weight, strength, conductivity and good energy absorption. In addition, it is easy to form and process, impermeable and odourless and is easily recycled. This has led to an annual global growth in the use of global primary aluminium of 3-4 percent in recent decades. Forecasts support that this development will continue, with the highest growth expected in China and other emerging economies. Over the years, Hydro has developed a leading position in the aluminium market in Europe. The company also has a strong position in the US and is about to establish basis for further growth in Asia. The unique Hydro Metal Supplier Concept has been instrumental for this profitable growth and allows the company to go to market with more than 3.3 million tonnes of metal products, well beyond the current equity primary aluminium production totalling around 1.5 million tonnes. The additional 1.8 million tonnes are mainly based on remelted scrap and ingots, as well as metal products supplied by strategic partners. Find out more about Hydro / Qatar Petroleum Search for more Hydro News Posted 09/12/04 |