Norsk Hydro Signs Amendments to Conduct Agreement for Alunorte Refinery

By Oliver Griffin

Norsk Hydro ASA (NHY.OS) said Tuesday that it has signed amendments to a conduct agreement with the Ministerio Publico and government in Brazil's Para state regarding its Alunorte alumina refinery.

The Norwegian aluminum-and-energy company said Hydro Alunorte has agreed to have third-party technical assistance to assess whether reports from environmental agency SEMAS and the University of Campina Grande--which concluded the refinery can safely resume normal operations--comply with technical parameters and relevant applicable rules.

Norsk Hydro said if the third-party assessment supports the conclusions, Ministerio Publico will file a petition in the Federal Court in Belem confirming it wouldn't oppose lifting Alunorte's production embargo.

Production has been running at 50% capacity for most of the last 10 months after Brazilian authorities ordered the company to lower water levels at the refinery's bauxite-residue deposit amid flooding and possible water contamination.

The court in Belem has scheduled a conciliatory hearing for April 4 between Alunorte and Ministerio Publico regarding the production embargo.

The court has appointed two technical experts to assist the court in its evaluation of technical issues related to the Alunorte situation, Norsk Hydro said.

The company said technical experts were given 60 days to conduct their evaluation. The formalization process of the technical experts is expected to take at least 30 days.

Write to Oliver Griffin at [e-mail]; @OliGGriffin

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 26, 2019 14:08 ET (18:08 GMT)

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