Western Australia’s single largest user of natural gas, Alcoa of Australia Limited has secured three new gas supply agreements which in full will supply close to 25 per cent of the company’s gas requirements from 2020.

The agreements with BHP, Woodside and Chevron coupled with other gas supply contracts, which were announced in 2015 (Quadrant Energy and Santos), complete Alcoa’s gas portfolio to fuel its Kwinana, Pinjarra and Wagerup alumina refineries for the mid-term.

The company consumes approximately 40 per cent of the gas supplied to the south west of Western Australia and about 25 per cent of the state’s total domestic gas supply.

President of Alcoa Alumina and Managing Director of Alcoa of Australia, Michael Parker said in securing these new gas contracts Alcoa is demonstrating to employees, suppliers, customers and the communities where they operate that Alcoa is committed to the region.

“Alcoa’s three WA refineries are the largest integrated source of alumina globally and an important source of economic activity,” Mr Parker commented.

The Kwinana, Pinjarra and Wagerup alumina refineries have a combined capacity of 8.8 million tonnes per year, making them a significant source of the world’s alumina.

Alcoa has stated that the refineries create jobs for more than 3,000 Western Australians, primarily in the state’s south-west, and generate some $1.4 billion in expenditure with WA suppliers.

More information on this announcement can be found here.