Natural gas supply cut leads to over 100,000 tons reduction at Alunorte in Brazil
October 7, 2026
Norsk Hydro, a company based in Norway, has announced that its Alunorte alumina refining plant in Brazil has received a notice from its gas supplier, Celba, that the contracted gas supply has been interrupted.
As one of the world's largest alumina producers, Alunorte was forced to turn to the spot market to purchase gas at a price higher than the contracted price to maintain basic operations.
On October 5th, Hydro disclosed that this supply disruption is expected to result in a reduction of 100,000 to 120,000 tons of alumina production in the third quarter of 2026, causing a financial impact of approximately 75 million to 100 million US dollars.
In addition, due to the price difference between spot and contracted gas, the company expects that Alunorte will face an additional cost impact of 90 million to 110 million US dollars in the fourth quarter.
Overall, this natural gas supply disruption has the potential to have a maximum financial impact of 210 million US dollars on Hydro's finances in the second half of 2026.
The company also stated that, based on the current situation, Alunorte does not expect any further gas supply disruptions. This incident highlights the fragility of the global commodity supply chain and the critical impact of energy supply stability on the upstream production of the aluminum industry.
