Alcoa continues to cooperate with the WA government's taskforce that is managing the WA gas supply issue.  We are providing all information they need about our operations to assist with their analysis of the overall energy situation.  We have also made available our internal gas and energy experts to be consulted as needed, as have other industrial companies affected by this event.  We continue to evaluate our options for minimising the disruption to our operations and employment, including, for example, rescheduling of planned maintenance. We also continue to work with our customers to minimize the impact on their operations.

We are mindful of the gas needs of the broader community and support the State's efforts to preserve the community's fuel, and we are encouraging all our employees to engage in our Make an Impact energy reduction program, to reduce our personal usage.

The WA gas supply issue reinforces the need for domestic energy security.  Last week Alcoa demonstrated its commitment to finding solutions to the energy challenge by announcing its joint venture with Latent Petroleum to explore for tight gas in the Perth basin.  The venture has the potential to change the energy supply landscape in Western Australia and meets WA and industry needs to respond to climate change with clean energy sources.
 
Background information:

• Apache supplies approximately 25%-30% of Alcoa’s energy supplies.
• Alcoa is still receiving gas from its other supplier, North West Shelf Gas.
• Alcoa of Australia is part of Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals (AWAC) which is 60-percent owned by Alcoa Inc. and 40-percent owned by Alumina Limited.
• Alcoa of Australia recently notified its customers that it was declaring force majeure under its alumina supply contracts, following a declaration of force majeure by Apache to all its customers.  The full extent of impacts to Alcoa customers is yet to be determined.
• Updates as we have them are available on the homepage of www.alcoa.com.au