After the world's largest LNG plant, a series of factories in the Middle East have also closed or ceased operations.

After the world's largest LNG plant, a series of factories in the Middle East have also closed or ceased operations.

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The attacks by Iran on Qatar's energy facilities are triggering a chain reaction of industrial shutdowns, with impacts rapidly spreading from liquefied natural gas to downstream industries such as aluminum smelting, urea, polymers, and methanol. The scope of supply disruptions continues to expand.

After QatarEnergy, Qatar’s state oil company, halted liquefied natural gas production on Monday, it further announced on Tuesday the suspension of production of a number of domestic downstream products. Norwegian aluminum company Norsk Hydro immediately announced that its joint venture aluminum smelter Qatalum in Qatar has begun an orderly shutdown, with full closure expected by the end of the month. A complete restart could take up to a year. Kuwait's Al Kout Industrial Projects has also announced a temporary halt in factory production.

The simultaneous supply disruptions across multiple industries are further intensifying supply pressures in the global commodities market. In 2025, Qatalum contributed about $136 million in adjusted net profit to Norsk Hydro, and this shutdown will have a direct impact on its performance.

Norsk Hydro stated that it is notifying customers and evaluating alternative channels to fulfill contractual commitments, with employee safety being the top priority. The company admitted that if the plant fully shuts down, the timeline for restarting remains uncertain.

Qatalum Begins Orderly Shutdown

In a statement on Tuesday, Norsk Hydro said that due to a natural gas shortage in Qatar, its joint venture Qatalum has initiated an orderly shutdown process for aluminum production. Qatalum is jointly owned by Norsk Hydro and Qatar Aluminum Manufacturing Company, which is controlled by QatarEnergy, the same company that supplies natural gas to the joint venture.

Norsk Hydro stated that the shutdown is aimed at minimizing health, safety, and environmental risks. The company expects the plant to be fully closed by the end of the month and that if a full shutdown occurs, it may take up to a year to restart, although the exact timeline is still undetermined.

The company previously said it was gathering more information on the impact to production before officially announcing the shutdown. "Hydro is notifying customers, working to minimize losses, and evaluating alternative channels to fulfill contractual commitments," the company stated.

Qatalum contributed NOK 1.3 billion (approximately $135.7 million) in adjusted net profit to Norsk Hydro in 2025. This shutdown will directly erode Norsk Hydro's profitability, with the eventual loss depending on the duration and pace of the restart.

Norsk Hydro said it is actively assessing alternative supply channels to meet its contractual obligations. However, when the plant can restart largely depends on the recovery of Qatar's natural gas supply, which currently remains highly uncertain.

QatarEnergy Expands Downstream Shutdowns

According to WallstreetCN, after being attacked by Iran, QatarEnergy suspended liquefied natural gas production on Monday and further announced on Tuesday the suspension of some domestic downstream product production, including aluminum, urea, polymers, and methanol.

This decision means the impact of the attack on Qatar's industrial system has spread from upstream LNG exports to the entire downstream chemical and industrial chain built on cheap natural gas, significantly expanding the range of affected industries.

According to Reuters, Kuwait’s Al Kout Industrial Projects has also announced a temporary halt in factory production, becoming another industrial enterprise impacted by rising tensions in the Middle East.

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