Oman's Sohar Aluminium starts up smelter

Source: Reuters

MUSCAT, June 11 - Oman's Sohar Aluminium, 20 percent owned by a unit of Rio Tinto , started production at its 350,000 tonne-per-year smelter on Wednesday, the company said.

The smelter will take six months to reach full capacity, the company said in a statement, without giving current output.

The $2.4 billion Sohar Aluminium joint venture is 20 percent owned by Alcan, the Canadian aluminium producing unit of Australia-based Rio Tinto. Oman Oil Co and the Abu Dhabi Electricity and Water Authority each hold a 40 percent stake in the project.

Sohar is one of only three aluminium producers in the Gulf Arab region. More producers are looking to enter the market shrugging off record-high global energy prices as they capitalise on cheap gas-generated electricity and a construction boom to boost world market share.

State-owned Dubai Aluminium Co said last week it had increased output by 12.6 percent year-on-year in 2007 to almost 890,000 tonnes.

Aluminium Bahrain , which produces 830,000 tonnes of the metal a year, said last year it was mulling plans to raise its output by up to 45 percent to about 1.2 million tonnes.