EL7.AI
CommoditiesMedium•9 November 2026•
4 min read

Egypt Raises Gas Cuts to Fertilizer Plants to 33%, Keeps Two Abu Qir Plants at Full Capacity

Key Facts

1Gas supplies to Abu Qir were cut by 33% from noon on November 8, after a 20% cut that began on November 1.
2Two of Abu Qir’s three plants will operate at full capacity despite the supply cut.
3MOPCO was notified of a 33% cut in gas supplies and began adjusting operations to available volumes.
4The Asian LNG benchmark rose about 36% in October to more than $34 per million British thermal units.

Egypt has notified fertilizer producers of a 33% cut in natural gas supplies, a move aimed at reducing the need for costly LNG imports as domestic production struggles to keep pace with demand, Reuters reported. Abu Qir Fertilizers said the new cut began at noon on November 8, following an earlier 20% reduction that started on November 1. With restrictions tightening, the company said two of its three plants would operate at full capacity. MOPCO said it had received notice of a 33% cut in its supplies and was adjusting operations according to available volumes to maintain continuity. The decision directly constrains fertilizer companies’ primary feedstock as the government faces a high bill to secure its energy needs.

Abu Qir’s disclosure shows that the cut does not mean a full shutdown of its plants: the company said two of its three plants would continue operating at full capacity and that production and operations would continue according to the gas available. But it did not specify the effect of the restrictions on the third plant or on its total output, leaving the scale of the operational impact undisclosed. This distinction separates the percentage cut in supplies to the company from the amount of production that may actually be affected, since the company has not provided an overall figure for losses or declines. MOPCO said it was adapting its operations to available volumes, without disclosing a figure for the impact on production. Continued operations depend on the amount of gas reaching each company and how supplies are allocated among its units.

The tighter conservation measures coincide with rising LNG costs in global markets. Enterprise reported that the Asian LNG benchmark rose about 36% month on month in October, exceeding $34 per million British thermal units at the end of the month, compared with about $25 at the end of September. The increase adds pressure to the import budget, which allocated about $10.1 billion for LNG in fiscal year 2026/27, according to an analyst cited by Reuters. Spending had reached $5.8 billion by October 6, the same source said, while prices were higher than budget estimates. These figures show the scale of spending Egypt incurred early in the fiscal year, as the government moves to reduce gas consumption in some industrial sectors. An oil expert said, according to Ahram Online, that covering the gas supply gap through pipeline imports and LNG cargoes costs the country about $1.65 billion a month.

The restrictions reflect a challenge extending beyond the companies that disclosed them. Reuters said domestic gas production had not kept pace with demand growth, and LNG imports had risen during the year before reaching their highest level since the start of the year in July and then declining from August. As part of measures to curb consumption, government entities were instructed to cut electricity use and lighting by 20%, and fuel allocated to government vehicles by at least 30% for three months, according to Ahram Online. These measures extend to public-sector consumption alongside cuts to supplies for gas-intensive factories. In the fertilizer market, Ahram Online cited a World Bank forecast that fertilizer prices would rise 14% during 2026. This leaves producers facing constraints on production inputs in a year when finished-product prices are expected to rise, with the disclosures not specifying the impact of Egypt’s cuts on exports or domestic prices.

Abu Qir began the deeper-cut phase one week after the 20% supply reduction started on November 1, while MOPCO said it was notified of the 33% cut after an earlier reduction of the same percentage, according to Ahram Online. The disclosures did not specify how long the restrictions would last, so no date has been announced for a return to previous supply levels. The companies’ announcements focus on adjusting operations to the gas available, while no figures have been disclosed for total production affected. The next developments cited by the companies involve monitoring operations according to available volumes and subsequent disclosures on production, maintenance or exports; the sources gave no timing for those disclosures. The available information also includes no announced timeline for ending the supply cuts.