Norsk Hydro announced that the aluminum smelter in Qatar will cease its production cuts and will operate at 60% of its capacity.
March 16, 2026
On March 3rd, Norsk Hydro announced that its "Qatalum" aluminum smelter in Qatar would have a controlled shutdown of aluminum production. However, the company stated on Thursday that after the gas supplier of the Qatalum smelter confirmed that the supply would be reduced, the smelter had decided not to further cut production and would maintain approximately 60% of its capacity for aluminum production.
Previously, Qatar Energy informed that it would stop the supply of natural gas. Subsequently, the Qatalum smelter began a controlled shutdown on March 3rd. Qatar Energy has now confirmed that it will continue to supply natural gas until further notice, but the supply volume will be maintained at a level that enables the Qatalum aluminum smelter to operate at approximately 60% of its capacity.
This production cut was carried out in a safe and controllable manner. Meanwhile, continuing operations at approximately 60% of the production capacity has created better conditions for future restarts. However, the exact time for the restart is still unclear.
Hydro Corporation stated that it is making efforts to mitigate the impacts of this production cut and shipping disruptions. The safety of Qatalum employees remains the top priority.
The Norwegian company Hydro and the Qatar Energy Company's Qatari Aluminium Manufacturing Company each hold 50% of the shares in Qatalum.
The annual smelting capacity of Qatalum is 648,000 tons.
