Even as the proposed $4 billion aluminum smelter at Inola is opposed by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond who is asking a federal court to stop progress on the project, the head of the American partner in the project expects ground to be broken by the end of the year.
Jesse Gary, President and CEO of Chicago-based Century Aluminum, said at a recent second quarter earnings conference call that the plant, known as Oklahoma Primary Aluminum, could start producing its “first hot metal by the end of 2029.”
In an earnings call, posted by Yahoo Finance, he explained, “We are making progress. These are complex contracts. They do take some time to get fully negotiated through the lawyers and all of that. I would just say things continue to move forward well and make good progress. Just know that we’re working hard and continue to make progress.”
If Attorney General Drummond has his way, there won’t be any “good progress” and the project won’t be developed.
Century Aluminum owns 40% of the project while the remaining 60% is owned by Emirates Global Aluminum, a company that Drummond has criticized as part of his attacks on the project and said so in his recent federal court filing in Tulsa.
“Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), which is a state-owned enterprise of the United Arab Emirates, holds a 60 percent controlling interest in the project, meaning the controlling hand behind the project belongs not to Oklahomans, nor even to Americans, but to a foreign sovereign more than 7,000 miles away. Century Aluminum holds the minority 40 percent interest. The Delaware corporation is headquartered in Chicago.”
Still, Gary expressed optimism the project will move ahead.
“We expect the Oklahoma project to be approved under the program to import up to 750,000 metric tons at the reduced 25% rate beginning in 2027,” he told investors and reporters.
“That’ll be split 60% to EGA and 40% to Century. That means Century could begin importing up to 300,000 metric tons per year at the reduced rate starting in 2027. We intend to apply that benefit to help fund Century’s share of the Oklahoma project.”
He said the Oklahoma project would be a further potential source of capital to help fund Century’s share of the project.
“We made further progress in the second quarter. Bechtel continues its detailed engineering work. We advanced negotiations toward a final energy contract. We made significant progress on the financing for the smelter,” adding, “we intend to bring the first new American smelter in nearly 50 years out of the ground. No company is investing more to restore American primary aluminum production than Century.”
Gary is not ignoring the controversy and the opposition by some legislators, residents, ranchers and the attorney general.
“Of course, you can understand the communities want to understand what’s going on when a major project gets announced in their area. I think we’re working very closely with the community in Inola and elsewhere in Oklahoma to better understand what their concerns are and to make sure that they have all the facts about our technology and process. In the end, we’re very confident that the smelter will pose no harm to anyone, and that everyone will be comfortable with what’s going on and get to see the benefits to the state and to the local community of all of the investment and jobs that are created.”
He said the smelter would provide “very substantial benefits to everybody” and the company was “working closely to understand their concerns and to make sure that they get comfortable.”
His comments about the opposition came after some reporters questioned him about the concerns of Oklahomans.
The project has the support of the Trump administration and has become a major part of the Republican Gubernatorial runoff between Drummond and former state Sen. Mike Mazzei who has been endorsed by President Trump. It was announced in May 2025.
Gary complimented the President’s move earlier in the year to close loopholes and incentivize companies to put capital in the ground for the aluminum manufacturing industry in the U.S. He also boasted that Century is the largest producer of aluminum in the U.S. and employs more American primary aluminum workers than any other company.
