Jamaican Alumina Refineries to Shift to Gas

UC RUSAL announced the start of modernisation of Alpart and Windalco (Ewarton and Kirkvine works) alumina refineries in Jamaica, which will include the full shift of steam production from fuel oil to gas as their main energy source. The Company expects that the natural gas supplies to the three plants will begin in 2016.

The programme will be carried out by RUSAL jointly with BP Energy Company (BPEC) of the United States and with Sea One AG, a Swiss company. The natural gas is to be supplied from the United States under long-term contracts with BPEC. The natural gas will be delivered to Jamaica through Sea One AG’s unique and proprietary LNG Lite Marine Gas Monetization System. This system enables the natural gas, purchased from BPEC, to be liquefied at non-cryogenic temperatures at a facility expected to be located in Pascagoula, Mississippi and then loaded and transported on ocean-going carriers to a receiving facility expected to be located at Port Esquivel where the gas cargo will be fractionated and delivered to UC RUSAL’s plants and facilities via new pipeline interconnects.

It is expected that the costs associated with this long-term natural gas supply project will be substantially less than LNG or heavy oil schemes. The full value chain gas supply and delivery project is being developed jointly by BP Energy Company, Sea One AG and RUSAL. The annual amount of gas required to fuel all three refineries operating at full capacity may reach 1.5 billion m3.

The Company expresses its gratitude and thanks to the Government of Jamaica and Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell personally for supporting the Company in this project.

“The surplus of alumina in the Atlantic region requires us to focus on the cost control. Shifting steam production to gas will boost performance of our Jamaican refineries as the steam generation forms a great part of our cost of sales. We expect that this modernisation will enable us to restart idled Alpart and Kirkvine refineries. We plan that alumina produced at these facilities will feed our cutting edge greenfield smelters in Eastern Siberia, which are to start operations gradually in the next several years. The project will also give a positive impact to the economy of Jamaica bringing new jobs at the refineries and at the construction sites,” said Vladislav Soloviev, First Deputy CEO of UC RUSAL.

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LNG World News Staff, May 1, 2013; Image: UC RUSAL