Qatar-Bahrain Gas Deal Will Help Alba

June 13, 2006

An anticipated deal for Qatar to supply natural gas to Bahrain could pave the way for Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) to become the world's 'mega-smelter', its acting chief executive Ahmed Al Noaimi said yesterday.

Although there are currently two smelters in Russia, which are larger in terms of output, Alba is already the largest modern smelter and complies with international environmental and safety regulations, Al Noaimi said.

A Memorandum of Understanding signed between Qatar and Bahrain on Sunday for Qatar to supply Bahrain with gas could give Alba access to the long-term supply of natural gas it needs to continue its expansion.

This is considered the main hurdle for Alba in its plans to launch its Line 6 expansion, following the successful completion of Line 5 last year, said Al Noaimi.

"Alba's current production, following Line 5, stands at more than 830,000 tonnes per year. If Line 6 is built, it would take production up to 1.3 million tonnes," he said. The infrastructure is already mainly in place and we had built Line 5 while anticipating that Line 6 would come in the future. We are pleased to hear this news about Qatar, which we hope will mean good news for us. The commissioning of a Line six would turn Alba into the world's mega smelter."

The expansion would create more jobs at the smelter and add to Alba's contribution to the Gross Domestic Product, which currently stands at 12 per cent.

Al Noaimi was speaking at the Bahrain American Chamber of Commerce breakfast at the Murcure Hotel yesterday. The event was attended by Bahraini and American businessmen and their guests. Following the signing of several agreements between Qatar and Bahrain, Qatar's Foreign Minister Shaikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani announced the countries intention of supplying Bahrain with natural gas.

He said that a study is currently taking place after which the details will be decided about how the gas would be transported to Bahrain.

(Source:TradeArabia News Service)

For further information, please contact the Office of the Economic Representative via e-mail info@bahraingateway.org or by telephone at (202) 537-7810.