Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi and the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) have announced the creation of $ 15 billion worth Emirates Global Aluminum (Emal), which will be the fifth-largest global aluminum company by production once Emal Phase II is complete in H1, 2014.
The new move, a jointly-held equal-ownership company, will integrate the businesses of Dubai Aluminum (DUBAL) and Emirates Aluminum with plans for significant local growth and international expansion. Both companies were discussing the merger of their smelters for more than six years.
Chairmen of the two shareholding companies Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, and General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces, witnessed the signing of the agreement here yesterday.
"Today's (Monday's) announcement builds on what these two outstanding organizations have created and reflects the UAE's long-term industrial strategy. Emirates Global Aluminum will accelerate employment with 2,000 direct jobs being created by 2020, adding to more than 6,200 direct jobs already in existence. We also conservatively estimate that a further 6,000 indirect jobs will be generated, delivering total employment of over 33,000 people by the UAE aluminum sector through the end of this decade."
Pending required approvals, the formal commencement of joint operations is expected to be completed within the first half of 2014, at which stage further announcements will be made,” said Mohammed Al-Shaibani, CEO of ICD.
Emal will look to expand along the value chain, from aluminum smelting to alumina refining and bauxite mining overseas. Given its scale, Emal will also continue to attract downstream manufacturing and ancillary businesses related to aluminum smelting and alumina refining as it grows, thereby indirectly creating additional jobs.
The new company will be managed by a board of directors that will be chaired by Khaldoon Khalifa Al-Mubarak, current chairman of Emal, while Saeed Mohammed Ahmed Al-Tayer, vice-chairman of DUBAL, will become its vice-chair. The board will also include Sultan Al-Jaber, Abdulla Kalban, Khaled Al-Qubaisi, Ahmed Yahia Al-Idrissi, Abdul Wahed Mohammad Al-Fahim and Khalid Al-Bakhit.
"The creation of a new global industrial champion anchored in the UAE is an important step toward realizing our vision for a diversified and sustainable economy. It is especially inspiring that the UAE technology contributed to the success of this business and that it will continue to be led by the UAE nationals as it grows locally and globally," said Al-Mubarak, CEO of Mubadala.
Mohamed Al-Shamsi, acting CEO of Abu Dhabi Port Company (ADPC), welcomed the news that Mubadala and Investment Corporation of Dubai have merged to create the new entity. Emal is an important anchor tenant for Kizad industrial zone. The site already includes a 2,000 MW power plant, a carbon plant, flexible cast-house and the world’s biggest aluminum smelter.
Mubadala, ICD merge to create $ 15 billion aluminum entity
Mubadala, ICD merge to create $ 15 billion aluminum entity
US pump prices surge as Iran war upends global energy supply
- Fuel prices jump over 10 percent as oil prices surge
- Analysts predict further price rises due to market conditions
MARIETTA/NEW YORK : US retail gasoline and diesel prices are soaring as the US-Israel war with Iran constrains oil and fuel exports, which could be a political test for President Donald Trump’s Republican Party ahead of midterm elections in November.
Fuel prices jumped more than 10 percent this week as oil rose above $90 a barrel, its highest in years, adding pain at the pump for consumers already strained by inflation.
Trump on Thursday shrugged off higher gasoline prices in an interview with Reuters, saying “if they rise, they rise.”
The president had vowed to lower energy prices and unleash US oil and gas drilling during his second term, but much of his tenure has been marked by volatility and uncertainty amid shifts in policies like tariffs and geopolitical turmoil.
The US is the world’s largest oil producer. It is a major exporter but also imports millions of barrels a day since it is the world’s largest oil consumer.
As of Friday, the national average prices for regular gasoline stood at $3.32 a gallon, up 11 percent from a week ago and the highest since September 2024, according to data from the motorists association AAA. Diesel was at $4.33, up 15 percent from a week ago, surging to the highest since November 2023.
Midwest, south feel the pinch
US motorists in parts of the Midwest and the South, including states that supported Trump, have seen some of the steepest increases in fuel costs since the conflict in Iran started.
In Georgia, a swing state, average retail gasoline prices rose 40.1 cents a gallon over the past week, according to fuel tracking site GasBuddy.
Andrenna McDaniel, a health care insurance worker in South Fulton, Georgia, said she was surprised to see prices skyrocket overnight.
“They jumped up so quickly,” she said on Friday, adding that she does not agree with the war at all.
McDaniel, a Democrat, said that for now she is only driving for the most important things, and feels lucky that she works from home so she does not have to drive as much as other people do. Georgia voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
Trump voter Richard Soule, 69, a US Air Force veteran and a retired firefighter, said a little pain at the pump is worth Trump’s efforts to protect America.
“When President Trump went in there and bombed out their nuclear, and they just thumbed their nose at it, I believe he did the right thing at the right time,” Soule said on Friday as he filled up his Ford F-150 truck in Marietta, Georgia.
Other states, including Indiana and West Virginia have seen prices rise by 44.3 cents and 43.9 cents, respectively.
Prices may rise further
More pain may be on the way, analysts said, as oil prices continue to trend upward. On Friday, US oil futures settled at $90.90 a barrel, up nearly $10 and the biggest single-day rise since April 2020.
“Given current market conditions, the national average price of gasoline could climb toward $3.50 to $3.70 per gallon in the coming days if oil continues rising and supply disruptions persist,” GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan said.
The disruptions in the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade conduit, have boosted demand for US oil abroad, which in turn has driven up prices for domestic refiners too.
“The US has weaned itself off of its dependence on Middle Eastern crude, but obviously Asian refineries, and to a lesser extent, European refineries have not,” Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst with OPIS. “That’s what you’re seeing happen in the spot market, because the demand for US exports rise, and so the price rise.”
Seasonal factors could add further pressure. Gasoline prices typically go up in the spring and peak in the summer due to higher gasoline demand and production of summer-blend gasoline, which is more costly to produce. Diesel fuel saw an even more aggressive jump since Iran began retaliating against US and Israeli strikes, significantly disrupting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Global diesel inventories have remained in tight supply due to heavy demand for heating and power generation during a prolonged winter in the US and other parts of the world and a structural tightness of refining capacity. Sticker prices of everything from food to furniture go up when the cost of diesel goes up, as the fuel is mainly used in freight transportation, manufacturing, agriculture, and global shipping, analysts said.
“In a world where buzzword seems to be ‘affordability’, that is certainly not going to help,” Cinquegrana said.
