Alcoa Converts San Ciprian Alumina Refinery to Natural Gas, Improving Global Competitiveness

The Alcoa (NYSE:AA) alumina refinery in San Ciprian (Lugo, Spain) today officially transitioned from fuel oil to natural gas following the completion of a new gas pipeline. The US$25 million investment to convert the refinery to natural gas is consistent with the Company’s strategy to create a lower cost, globally competitive alumina business.

“We are increasing the ability of our San Ciprian refinery to compete on a global scale by converting the facility to a secure supply of natural gas, which is lower in cost over the long term and a cleaner alternative to fuel oil for refining,” said Alan Cransberg, President of Alcoa Refining. “The San Ciprian team has worked diligently to make this transition happen and we’re extremely pleased to see the pipeline inaugurated today.”

The facility’s shift to natural gas was designed to reduce energy costs at the refinery by US$20 per metric ton compared to historic levels, supporting the Company’s goal to improve its position on the alumina cost curve to the 21^st percentile by 2016. At Alcoa’s 2014 Investor Day, the Company said that its position on the alumina cost curve had improved to the 25th percentile in 2014 from the 27th percentile in 2013.

The refinery’s transition to natural gas also enables Alcoa to reduce the facility’s greenhouse gases, cutting CO₂ by 30 percent and eliminating SO₂ emissions.

Inauguration Ceremony

The heads of the Galician Regional Government, Natural Gas-Fenosa – which is the owner of the new pipeline, and Alcoa Spain participated in a ceremony to celebrate the pipeline’s inauguration.

“The opening of the pipeline in San Ciprian today marks the successful conclusion of a joint effort between regional Government ‘Xunta de Galicia’, with support of the Consellería of Economy and Industry; Natural Gas-Fenosa and Alcoa, and is consistent with Alcoa’s ongoing commitment to energy efficiency,” said Simon Baker, president of Alcoa’s Global Energy Assets and European region. “Alcoa appreciates the strong support for this project by the Ministries of Industry and Environment to provide this infrastructure, which is essential for the La Mariña community and helps improve the competitiveness of the regional industry in general.”

About San Ciprian

The San Ciprian alumina refinery is part of the AWAC joint venture, owned 60 percent by Alcoa and 40 percent by Alumina Ltd., with an annual capacity of 1.5 million metric tons. The facility supplies alumina to several of Alcoa’s European primary aluminum smelters as well as a wide variety of customers in the chemical, ceramics and construction materials markets.

About Alcoa

A global leader in lightweight metals technology, engineering and manufacturing, Alcoa innovates multi-material solutions that advance our world. Our technologies enhance transportation, from automotive and commercial transport to air and space travel, and improve industrial and consumer electronics products. We enable smart buildings, sustainable food and beverage packaging, high-performance defense vehicles across air, land and sea, deeper oil and gas drilling and more efficient power generation. We pioneered the aluminum industry over 125 years ago, and today, our approximately 59,000 people in 30 countries deliver value-add products made of titanium, nickel and aluminum, and produce best-in-class bauxite, alumina and primary aluminum products. For more information, visit www.alcoa.com, follow @Alcoa on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Alcoa and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Alcoa.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains statements that relate to future events and expectations and as such constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include those containing such words as “expect,” “goal,” “plan,” “should,” “will,” or other words of similar meaning. All statements that reflect Alcoa’s expectations, assumptions or projections about the future other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements about Alcoa’s strategies, goals, outlook, and business and financial prospects. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements include: (a) Alcoa’s inability to lower its position on the global alumina cost curve as targeted or within the time period anticipated; (b) Alcoa’s inability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the San Ciprian refinery as anticipated; (c) the failure to realize expected benefits, including improvement in global competitiveness, from the conversion of the fuel for the San Ciprian alumina refinery; and (d) the other risk factors summarized in Alcoa’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Alcoa disclaims any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether in response to new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Alcoa
Investor:
Kelly Pasterick, 212-836-2674
Kelly.Pasterick@alcoa.com
or
Media:
Sonya Harden, 864-836 2078
Sonya.Harden@alcoa.com
or
Alcoa Spain
Clara Acebes, + 34 914068280
Clara.Acebes@alcoa.com