Alumina Refinery Halts Half of Production Amid Brazilian Gas Shortage

Norsk Hydro's alumina refinery in Brazil has reduced output to 50% of capacity due to a natural gas shortage. The Alunorte plant, located in the northern state of Para, can produce 6.3 million metric tons of alumina per year.

The company said it had implemented contingency measures to mitigate the impact on operations after being informed of disruptions to availability by its gas supplier CELBA.

The measures include purchasing spot gas volumes and requesting direct access to the Barcarena LNG receiving and regasification terminal. The potential financial impact from reduced production in the third quarter may be $75 million to $100 million, Hydro said.

As a result of the supply disruptions, aluminium prices have risen to a seven-week high on the London Metal Exchange. Benchmark three-month aluminium CMAL3 prices rose as much as 2% to $3,382.50 a ton on Tuesday.