Egypt orders fresh gas cut at fertilizer plants, tightening urea supply

Egyptian fertilizer plants face a second gas curtailment, trimming urea output from a major export origin as global gas stays tight.

By Divyansh Anand SinghAboutEditorial policyContactPublished 9 Nov 2026, 12:22 AM IST4 min readSource: The Economic Times

In 60 words

Egypt has told fertilizer producers of a new gas supply cut, the second this month, as Cairo tries to curb costly LNG imports. MOPCO, Abu Qir and other plants are managing output against the gas they receive. Egypt makes about 6.5 million tonnes of urea a year and uses 2.9 million at home, so less gas means less export tonnage.

Key points

Misr Fertilizers Production Company said it was notified of a new 33% cut in gas supply, after an earlier 20% reduction¹.
Egyptian business outlet EnterpriseAM reported the curtailment rose from 20% to 33% and also hit steel makers².
Egyptian granular urea was quoted at about $535 a tonne FOB for November, up roughly 17% from September, an export council official said³.
India imported 5.589 million tonnes of urea in April to September, up 40.5% from a year earlier⁴.

Egypt has ordered a second cut in natural gas supplies to its fertilizer plants, sharpening a squeeze on urea output from a major export origin¹.

Misr Fertilizers Production Company, known as MOPCO, said it had been notified of a new 33% reduction in its gas supply, according to a Reuters report on November 8¹. The step follows an earlier 20% cut¹.

EnterpriseAM, an Egyptian business news service, reported the same day that the curtailment on fertilizer and methanol producers had been raised from 20% to 33%². It named Abu Qir Fertilizers, MOPCO and Egyptian Fertilizers among the companies affected².

The two reports describe the second step differently. Reuters reported a new 33% reduction, which followed an earlier 20% cut¹. EnterpriseAM said the curtailment level itself rose from 20% to 33%².

The Petroleum Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters said¹.

Plants trim output rather than stop

When the first cut took effect, MOPCO and Abu Qir Fertilizers and Chemical Industries said they would manage production in line with the gas available¹. Abu Qir said it had contingency plans for managing inventory and rescheduling maintenance¹.

Kima said its supplies were cut by 20% from noon on Sunday, November 1³. It said it had implemented the cut, with its urea plant still running normally³. MOPCO was adjusting production rates to the gas it actually receives³.

Abu Qir makes prilled and granular urea, ammonium nitrate, ammonia and liquid fertilizers. It was the first Egyptian fertilizer company to list on the Egyptian Exchange⁵.

The gas squeeze has spread beyond fertilizers. The Oil Ministry also notified steel maker Ezz Steel of a 30% reduction in gas supply, amounting to roughly 30 million cubic feet a day, EnterpriseAM reported².

Why Cairo is turning down the gas

Egypt burns domestic gas and, increasingly, imported LNG to generate power, but domestic output has struggled to keep pace with demand¹. The war with Iran has tightened global LNG markets and pushed prices higher¹.

The Petroleum Ministry budgeted about $10.1 billion for LNG in the 2026/27 financial year¹. By October 6 it had spent $5.8 billion, which an analyst said put it on course to exceed the budget¹. Gas demand usually rises in spring and summer¹.

LNG imports reached a year-to-date high in July before easing from August¹. State-run Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation also bought six cargoes of high-sulphur fuel oil for delivery in November and December¹.

The International Energy Agency said LNG loadings from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates fell by 60 billion cubic metres year on year between March and October⁶. That cut global LNG output by about 5%, or 20 bcm⁶. Winter supply could run 10 to 25 bcm below last year, the agency said⁶. European Union storage entered the heating season at its lowest since 2013⁷.

Prices and alternatives

Egyptian granular urea was fetching about $535 a tonne free on board in November contracts³. That is up roughly 17% from about $457 in September, Khaled Abu Al Makarem, head of the Chemicals and Fertilizers Export Council, told EnterpriseAM³. EnterpriseAM said that made Egypt the priciest origin among comparable regions, ahead of China, the rest of the Middle East, Nigeria and Algeria².

Egypt can make about 6.5 million tonnes of urea a year and uses roughly 2.9 million tonnes at home³.

On a separate benchmark tracked by Trading Economics, urea traded flat at $432.50 a tonne on November 6⁸. It was down 0.57% over the past month and up 14.12% from a year earlier⁸. That series is based on contracts for difference, not physical cargoes⁸.

Alternative supply will not arrive quickly. Indorama is adding a fourth urea line in Nigeria, under a $261 million construction contract awarded to Daewoo Engineering & Construction⁹. The line would raise installed capacity to about 5.6 million tonnes a year from about 4.2 million tonnes⁹. The report noted that installed capacity is not the same as output⁹.

Demand is the wild card

India, a large urea importer, bought 5.589 million tonnes in April to September, up 40.5% from 3.979 million tonnes a year earlier⁴. Imports peaked at 1.534 million tonnes in July⁴.

But Indian rabi sowing is running late. The area under rabi crops was down 46% at 37.56 lakh hectares as of October 30, against 69.02 lakh hectares a year earlier¹⁰. Wheat had been sown on 19,000 hectares, against 3.34 lakh hectares¹⁰.

That leaves buyers weighing tighter supply against uncertain Indian demand^4, 10.

The IEA expects the tightness to last through the northern hemisphere winter⁶. The size of the shortfall depends on when shipments through the Strait of Hormuz recover⁶.

What it means for procurement buyers

Buyers who take urea or ammonia from Egypt face a second cut in a month, and this one is best treated as an allocation problem as much as a price problem. Plants are trimming output rather than stopping, so contracted volumes may arrive late or short rather than disappear^1, 3.

The cost signal is already clear. Egyptian granular urea was quoted at about $535 a tonne free on board for November, up roughly 17% from September, and EnterpriseAM describes Egypt as the priciest origin among comparable suppliers^3, 2. Any contract that references Egyptian FOB will reprice at that level, and replacement cargoes from Nigeria, Algeria, the wider Middle East or China will carry their own freight and timing costs².

Check three things this week. First, whether your supply contract names a specific plant or origin, because a gas curtailment there may be a trigger to review volumes and delivery terms¹. Second, the price reference, since FOB Egypt is not the same as a delivered price. Third, your cover for the first quarter, because alternative capacity such as Indorama's planned Nigerian line will not add tonnes soon⁹.

Do not assume demand will bail the market out. Indian rabi sowing is running well behind last year, which could soften import pull¹⁰.

Sources

1.gCaptain, Egypt Deepens Gas Cuts To Fertilizer Makers As Energy Squeeze Tightens, 8 November 2026. Accessed 9 November 2026.
2.EnterpriseAM, You searched for fertilizer gas - EnterpriseAM. Accessed 9 November 2026.
3.EnterpriseAM, You searched for urea - EnterpriseAM. Accessed 9 November 2026.
4.The Economic Times, Urea imports surge 40% despite push to cut chemical fertilisers, 22 October 2026. Accessed 9 November 2026.
5.abuqir.com, Abuqir Fertilizers. Accessed 9 November 2026.
6.BusinessLine, Global gas supplies could tighten in winter amid unprecedented Strait of Hormuz supply shock: IEA, 7 November 2026. Accessed 9 November 2026.
7.Hellenic Shipping News, Low storage buffers in Europe could prolong global gas market tightness well into 2027, 4 November 2026. Accessed 9 November 2026.
8.tradingeconomics.com, Urea - Price - Chart - Historical Data. Accessed 9 November 2026.
9.naija247news.com, Indorama Commits $261m To Fourth Nigeria Fertiliser Line As Urea Capacity Targets 5.6m Tonnes | Naija247news, 7 November 2026. Accessed 9 November 2026.
10.BusinessLine, India’s rabi acreage down 46% as sowing of all crops gets delayed, 2 November 2026. Accessed 9 November 2026.

How this story was made: published under Divyansh Anand Singh's byline, researched and drafted with AI tools working only from the sources listed above. Automated checks confirmed that every number and quote appears in those sources, and a separate AI fact-check compared the story with them before publication. Read our editorial policy. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.

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