Qatar, Norway’s Hydro Sign Deal

DOHA, 6 December 2004 — Norwegian firm Hydro and Qatar’s state energy company signed a deal yesterday to build one of world’s largest aluminum plants in the gas-rich Gulf state at a cost of $3 billion. The plant will be jointly owned by Qatar Petroleum and the Norwegian oil and aluminum giant, with state-owned Qatar company taking a majority 51 percent stake and Hydro 49 percent. The project, expected to reach full capacity in 2009, has a planned capacity of a first phase of 570,000 tons of primary aluminum, Qatari Energy Minister Abdullah ibn Hamad Al-Attiyah and Hydro Chief Executive Eivind Reiten told reporters after signing the agreement.