New aluminium smelters in Qatar and Abu Dhabi will pile more than 1.3 million tonnes of metal on to a weakened global market this year, squeezing the margins of higher-cost producers in the West and China.
The Qatalum smelter officially opened yesterday will add 585,000 tonnes of aluminium to the market by the time it hits full production by the end of the year. The new supply will coincide with the Emirates Aluminium smelter in Taweelah, Abu Dhabi, which is expected to reach full capacity of 750,000 tonnes in the same period.
Both projects will add to an existing glut of supply estimated at 1.5 million tonnes, according to Norsk Hydro, the Norwegian partner of Qatar Petroleum in the US$5.7 billion (Dh20.93bn) Qatalum project.
The two plants achieve vast economies of scale and source their electricity from low-cost natural gas, and are among the most cost-efficient aluminium producers in the world.
Qatalum yesterday described its smelter as "the world's most efficient".
Current aluminium prices of $2,424 a tonne are almost double the low they hit in February last year but are still down significantly from the record highs of above $3,000 in 2008.
A weighted average of analyst forecasts by Bloomberg showed prices remaining below current levels for at least the next three years. In 2013, aluminium will average $2,315 a tonne, according to the forecast.
Norsk Hydro is one company under pressure. Even as it commissions the Qatar smelter, Norsk Hydro has plans to close down a smaller plant in Germany, the company's chief financial officer Jorgen Arentz Rostrup said on Sunday. The company had already curtailed output by 90 per cent, Mr Rostrup said.
"It is a fantastic plant, but the energy situation in Germany makes it extremely challenging to run," he told Bloomberg at the official opening of Qatalum. "It's more likely that it will close, but we haven't decided yet."
Aluminium smelters need access to decades of low-cost electricity to be profitable.
The most lucrative plants have historically been located near hydroelectric dams or large reserves of cheap natural gas.
Germany and other European countries have some of the highest electricity prices in the world, while Chinese producers face difficulty in securing low-cost electricity from coal-fired power stations.
The Middle East will increase aluminium exports and "it's the rest of the world that will have to find a supply-and-demand balance", Mr Rostrup said.
The Qatalum smelter will aim to sell 75 per cent of its production to Asia and Europe, the company's deputy chief executive, Hassan al Rashid, said.
Global demand would rise by 5 to 7 per cent this year, Mr al Rashid said.
Qatar Petroleum and Norsk Hydro have not formed definite plans to increase the size of the plant, Abdullah al Attiyah, the Qatari minister of energy and industry, said.
The Gulf Aluminium Council (GAC), a regional industry trade group, noted in a report last year that the Gulf was well-positioned to take market share from higher-cost producers.
"Increasingly, primary aluminium smelters in some of these industrialised countries are becoming uneconomic, particularly as labour and energy costs escalate," the GAC wrote.
"Producing primary aluminium in the Gulf for export to the rest of the world has then proved to be an effective and economic alternative way of exporting energy."
* With agencies
@Email:cstanton@thenational.ae
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: now
ILT20%20UAE%20stars
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MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
Getting%20there%20and%20where%20to%20stay
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Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Company profile
Name: Tharb
Started: December 2016
Founder: Eisa Alsubousi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Luxury leather goods
Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings
Brief scores:
Kashima Antlers 0
River Plate 4
Zuculini 24', Martinez 73', 90 2', Borre 89' (pen)
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
HAJJAN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Abu%20Bakr%20Shawky%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3EStarring%3A%20Omar%20Alatawi%2C%20Tulin%20Essam%2C%20Ibrahim%20Al-Hasawi%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FIGHT%20CARD
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TUESDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 2pm:
Elina Svitolina (UKR) [3] v Jennifer Brady (USA)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) v Belinda Bencic (SUI [4]
Not before 7pm:
Sofia Kenin (USA) [5] v Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
Maria Sakkari (GRE) v Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) [7]
Court One
Starting at midday:
Karolina Muchova (CZE) v Katerina Siniakova (CZE)
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) v Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR)
Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) v Dayana Yastermska (UKR)
Petra Martic (CRO) [8] v Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) v Anett Kontaveit (EST)
Cricket World Cup League Two
Teams
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Namibia beat Oman by 52 runs
UAE beat Namibia by eight wickets
Fixtures
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Oman
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
ANDROID%20VERSION%20NAMES%2C%20IN%20ORDER
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