Consumers in Oman seeking aluminum imports following the August 4 "incident" at Sohar Aluminum's 375,000 mt/year smelting plant that interrupted operations, market sources said Monday.
One Middle Eastern producer said up to 40% of Sohar's production was for consumption in Oman and other Gulf states, either in liquid metal or ingot form.
There is shortage of liquid metal in Oman, he said.
Another Middle East producer said he had sold ingot to a Omani buyer at over $100/mt CIF for multi-month shipments for the rest of the year.
"Certainly there is more interest," said another producer based outside of the Middle East.
One international trader said he has received a bid at $90/mt CIF Oman for ingot.
"Inquiries are starting to come in," said a second trader, but did not elaborate on discussions with prospective buyers in the Middle East.
Sohar Aluminum's smelting operations were interrupted after an "incident" reported by the company on August 4.
In a statement at the time the company said there would be "no long-term implications on the daily operations of the company and we will resume normal operations at the earliest."
However, two sources last week said it could take four to six months, or even longer, for operations to be fully restored.
