EGA, Century Aluminum select firm to lead preparatory engineering work for primary aluminum smelter project

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) and Century Aluminum have announced the selection of Bechtel, headquartered in Reston, Virginia, to conduct preparatory engineering for their planned primary aluminum production plant in Inola, Oklahoma.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based EGA is an integrated aluminum producer with operations that include an aluminum smelter and alumina refinery in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; an aluminum smelter in Dubai; a specialty foundry in Germany; and an aluminum recycling company, EGA Spectro Alloys, in Minnesota.

Century Aluminum, headquartered in Chicago, is an integrated producer of bauxite, alumina and primary aluminum products. Century is the largest producer of primary aluminum in the United States and also operates production facilities in Iceland, the Netherlands and Jamaica.

The companies previously announced that they each had planned to construct primary aluminum smelters in the U.S., with EGA having selected the site in Inola last year, while Century entered an agreement with the Department of Energy for up to $500 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act funding to build a smelter as part of the Industrial Demonstrations Program. Earlier this year, the companies announced that they would partner on the Oklahoma facility instead, with EGA holding a 60 percent ownership stake in the project and Century holding 40 percent.

RELATED: EGA America exec talks about the company’s growth in the US

Bechtel will design the new plant with a strong focus on value improvement, preparing the project for a final investment decision and the start of construction by the end of 2026, the companies say. The Bechtel team also will define the technical, infrastructure, and planning needed to enable industrial growth in Inola and across Rogers County and the greater northeast Oklahoma region.

Bechtel has built one-third of all new aluminum smelter capacity outside China over the past 25 years and has been a leader in U.S. project delivery since 1898, EGA and Century say.

“Bechtel has been helping build America’s industrial base for more than a century, and we welcome the opportunity to support this important project in Oklahoma,” says Ailie MacAdam, president of Bechtel Mining & Metals. “We are bringing our experience in delivering U.S. megaprojects and our global track record in delivering aluminum facilities to help our customer move forward with confidence.”

Bechtel is working closely with London-based ERM, a leading sustainability consultancy that is coordinating the environmental and social public consultation and permitting process for the smelter.

The project, which is expected to have 750,000 metric tons of production capacity, will be the first primary aluminum smelter constructed in the U.S. since 1980, doubling current U.S. primary aluminum production. The project, to be built with EGA’s latest aluminum reduction technology, EX, will create 1,000 permanent direct jobs at the facility and 4,000 jobs during construction, EGA and Century say. The plant.

As part of its work, Bechtel is exploring modularization and preassembly strategies to improve the efficiency of construction on-site and defining logistics to transport materials by road and river while minimizing the impact on local traffic.

“Building the first American primary aluminum production plant in decades is a transformative project for America’s industrial revival, the strong economic future of Inola and Oklahoma and for our company,” says EGA CEO Abdulnasser Bin Kalban. “Bechtel, with its leading experience in American industrial projects and aluminum projects around the world, will play a key role in the extensive work ongoing to make this project a reality.”

Century Aluminum CEO Jesse Gary adds, “The selection of Bechtel adds momentum to our project, meeting the urgency of our nation’s needs for this critical metal. We’re proud to mark this milestone with EGA and with Bechtel.”