Oklahoma smelter construction targeted for 2027
Matt Aboud, Senior Vice President of Strategy at Century Aluminum, estimated that civil works on the Oklahoma Primary Aluminum (OPA) smelter would begin in Q2 2027.
OPA is a joint venture between Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) and Century Aluminum.
The company plans to build a $4 billion primary aluminium facility in the Tulsa Port of Inola, making it the first primary aluminium smelter to be built in the US in nearly 50 years.
Once fully operational, the plant is expected to produce 750,000 tonnes of aluminium annually.
When asked why now was the right time to begin the project, Aboud noted that while the ideal time was “long ago” past economic conditions in the industry had delayed launching a new smelter.
He said: “We’ve had a really sad 20 years as our industry has eroded to the point where it’s almost near extinction. The market has always been here. The challenge has been keeping our existing fleet of smelters alive, and that’s been under attack from cheap imports, mostly from China, as well as increasing energy prices and a declining workforce.
“The reality is that we need a continuous supply of this material. We need it for critical industries like automobiles, aircraft, and national defence.”
More recently, however, the project has run into local delays due to a vote by the Inola Town Council to extend its suspension on primary aluminium smelting until April 7, 2027.
The decision replaced a previous 60-day moratorium which was set to expire on September 28.
In addition, the council voted to place a citizen-led petition on the April 7 ballot that would establish a permanent, town-wide ban on aluminium production.
This petition, along with a separate lawsuit filed by the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, is currently under challenge in District Court.
On how these local developments had affected the project’s deadlines, Aboud said: “We’re hoping to get to the point where we can reach the next phase of our project, which is kind of a go- or no-go decision by the end of the year.”
He continued that OPA hoped to have a ceremonial groundbreaking soon, but the company was unable to begin construction until its environmental permits had been approved.
“We expect that to be completed by early Q2 2027, and then the actual groundbreaking and the civil work phase will begin,” he said, adding that OPA was still aiming to produce its first hot metal by the end of the decade. “We’re saying mid to third quarter 2030, so from the date of construction, it’s a little over a three-year buildout – about 42 months.”
