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Misr Fertilizers Production Company said it received notification of the deepened cut in natural gas supplies, which follows the earlier 20 percent reduction and applies across major producers including Abu Qir Fertilizers and the Egyptian Fertilizer Company. Industry officials confirmed the measure took effect immediately on Sunday and would continue for an unspecified duration, with the reduction equivalent to halting one full production line at each facility. A senior government official told Asharq Bloomberg that the step aims to manage available resources as the cost of imported LNG cargoes approaches $120 million each, adding pressure on the national energy bill. Egypt’s petroleum ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the latest adjustment.
Domestic natural gas production has struggled to match rising consumption for power generation and industry, forcing increased reliance on LNG imports that have grown more expensive following disruptions tied to the Iran war, Reuters reported. The country has responded in part by ramping up purchases of cheaper fuel oil, with the state-run Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation securing six cargoes of high-sulphur fuel oil for delivery in November and December, trading sources told Reuters last month. Such measures reflect broader efforts to balance the energy mix while containing import expenditures that have intensified since global LNG markets tightened earlier this year.
When the initial 20 percent cut was implemented on November 1, both MOPCO and Abu Qir Fertilizers and Chemical Industries stated they would adjust production schedules to match available gas volumes. Abu Qir added that it held contingency plans including inventory management and deferred maintenance to minimise disruptions, according to statements cited by Reuters. Similar supply restrictions have occurred in prior years, with fertilizer plants facing cuts of 20 to 30 percent in 2024 and up to 50 percent for brief periods in 2025 when Israeli gas imports declined, EnterpriseAM Egypt reported.
Natural gas serves as both feedstock and fuel for nitrogen fertiliser production, accounting for 60 to 70 percent of total costs and directly influencing output rates and export competitiveness, according to multiple government sources who spoke to Asharq Bloomberg. Egypt produces around 6.5 million tons of urea annually, consumes 2.9 million tons domestically and exports the balance, a ratio outlined by the petroleum minister and recalculated by EnterpriseAM Egypt. Chemical and fertiliser exports reached $9.54 billion in the first nine months of 2026, a 34 percent increase from the prior year, with fertilisers contributing $2.53 billion of that total, according to the Chemicals and Fertilizers Export Council.
The latest cuts arrive as urea prices have climbed, with Egyptian granular urea fetching about $535 per ton in November contracts, 17 percent above September levels and the highest among comparable origins, the export council chairman told EnterpriseAM Egypt. Pricing formulas for gas supplied to fertiliser plants are linked to global urea benchmarks, currently placing delivered costs around $6 per million British thermal units, though some producers faced charges exceeding $9 earlier in 2026, Asharq Bloomberg data showed. Officials have previously raised supplies to these plants by 19 percent in August to 810 million cubic feet per day when import flows improved, yet the reversal underscores persistent volatility in meeting combined household, power and industrial needs.
A board member at one state-linked fertiliser firm, speaking anonymously to Al Manassa, said one of three production units was already operating below 40 percent capacity following the first round of cuts, illustrating the immediate operational strain. The development forms part of wider austerity planning that includes potential gas price increases for industry, a senior finance ministry official told the same outlet earlier this month. Egypt’s fertiliser sector remains the largest industrial consumer of natural gas, with annual consumption falling from 227.6 billion cubic feet in fiscal 2023-24 to 207.7 billion cubic feet in 2024-25 amid repeated supply adjustments, according to a sector assessment published by Egypt Oil and Gas.
