Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) selected International Bechtel Co. Ltd. (Bechtel) to perform a feasibility study for its Line 7 expansion project. This will expand the company’s capacity of high quality, low carbon aluminum.
“We are delighted of the partnership we have developed with Bechtel throughout the years, which has translated into awarding them Line 7 project’s feasibility study,” said Shaikh Daij bin Salman bin Daij Al Khalifa, chairman of Alba. ” “This proposed project underlines our ambition to grow organically and will further cement our position as one of the largest environment-friendly smelters in the world.”
Expected to be completed in about nine months by September 2023, the feasibility study will provide a comprehensive evaluation of all factors to determine the viability of the Line 7 project. The company expects that its new Line 7 will have a similar production capacity as its previous Line 6 expansion project (pictured), which was completed in 2018. This will add approximately 540,000 tonnes per year.
“We are excited to continue to support Alba on developing new aluminum capacity in Bahrain,” said Ailie MacAdam, Bechtel’s president of Mining & Metals. “It is a great honor to continue our 30-year relationship with Alba, innovating aluminum production and providing jobs and training opportunities.”
Alba already signed an MOU with Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) in March 2022, which deepens the technology cooperation between the two companies. The understanding includes the potential for additional use of EGA-developed technology at Alba.
Although Line 6 has performed above expectations, the MOU enables the companies to explore methods of further increasing the line’s production beyond its name-plate design capacity. The cooperation will also explore using EGA technology and know-how in future expansions at Alba smelter, such as the new Line 7 project.
“This MOU cements our technology partnership with EGA, our partner of choice,” said Al Khalifa. “We are pleased with the performance of EGA’s DX+ Ultra technology at Potline 6 and keen to work with EGA to further improve our potline performance. We are also excited to explore other opportunities to deploy EGA technological expertise at our smelter for the potential brownfield expansion of Potline 7, in another close cooperation between our two nations – the Kingdom of Bahrain and United Arab Emirates.”