Qatalum starts first primary aluminium production in Qatar

The first of Qatalum's 704 reduction cells started operation on Sunday morning, in line with the announced production schedule.

Qatalum's Chairman, Mr. Abdulla Salatt considers this milestone a historic beginning of aluminium production from Qatar, confirming Qatalum's ability to deliver products on time, within budget and with an excellent environmental and safety standard.

- Bringing one of the the world's largest greenfield smelters on line required a committed partnership between Qatar Petroleum and Hydro, thanks to world-class project management competence and effort of all involved in the Qatalum project and operation, says Mr. Salatt.

- Construction work will continue as testing and training give way to operations. New cells will be started consecutively from now on and during next year, reaching full operational capacity of 585,000 tonnes when all 704 cells are in operation in the second half of 2010 says Qatalum's CEO, Jan Arve Haugan.

- At start up, over 90% of the employees are mobilized and have been trained and are well prepared for the operations to commence.

Approximately 25 nationalities are represented in the Qatalum organization and there is a strong emphasis towards Qataris, many of whom hold senior positions within the company, says Deputy CEO Hassan Al Rashid.

Qatalum is staying ahead of global industrial environmental obligations by investing in and implementing Hydro's leading technological edge.

From laser-guided "pot-tending machines" in the potrooms to state-of-the-art fume treatment plants, high environmental standards are important to Qatalums sustainable operations

The Qatalum Project has demonstrated an excellent safety record with its "lost time injury" rate is 0.4 per million work hours; this by far surpasses the challenging ambitions defined before site work began in January 2007.

Qatalum will be one of the largest and most environmentally friendly aluminium plants built in a single phase and is a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and Hydro, the Norwegian-based aluminium and energy company.

Primary aluminium will be shipped as value-added aluminium casthouse products. The aluminium metal produced at Qatalum will be sold mainly in the European, Asian and North American markets.

A dedicated power plant with an installed capacity of 1350 MW will ensure stable supply of electricity to the plant.