Oman’s Sohar Aluminium said yesterday that it has eased back into production after an accident led to a six-hour power outage in August.
Said Al Masoudi, Sohar’s CEO, was quoted in a statement released to the media yesterday as saying that more progress had to be made before production at the plant could return to pre-accident levels.
“Sohar Aluminium has confirmed it has re-energised the potline, and on Friday 15th September 2017 gradually began re-starting the pots and the production of aluminium. The company is still working closely with a team of industry experts to progressively return to full production levels as early as possible.”
According to an unnamed industry source quoted by Reuters, the plant may need up to half a year to achieve full production.
“About 130,000 to 150,000 tonnes of supply will likely be lost,” the unnamed source opined.
No further details regarding the as-yet-unspecified incident leading to the power cut were released by Sohar. Rio Tinto Alcan did not comment on the matter, either.
Sohar Aluminium was founded in the fall of 2004 and is jointly owned by Oman Oil Company (40%), Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC – TAQA (40%), and Rio Tinto Alcan (20%). The US$2.5-billion joint venture produced 375 thousand metric tons of aluminium last year.