Energy-intensive industries have seen their gas supplies cut in the wake of Israel and Chevron’s decision to suspend gas exports to Egypt, several news outlets reported yesterday. Asharq Business reported that fertilizer companies have seen supplies reduced by 30% while Al Borsa says that other industries — including iron and aluminum — are also facing temporary supply cuts (though it doesn’t specify how much).

A temporary measure? Companies that spoke with Al Borsa said that they had been informed that the reduction will only last for a matter of days.

The fertilizer industry and others are trying to push back: The Export Council for Chemical Industries and Fertilizers met with the oil, trade, and industry ministries to demand that the decision be delayed until companies can fulfill their existing export contracts. Failing this, the council proposed reducing the cut down to 10%, Al Borsa reported.

This isn’t altogether new: The government had diverted natural gas from fertilizer plants to the national grid months before the war in Gaza, with some fertilizer producers reportedly seeing their supplies fall by 20% at the height of the power crisis in August. The gas cuts were expected to affect mostly producers of urea fertilizer, a low-cost nitrogenous fertilizer that consumes high volumes of gas, according to earlier report s from back in July.

Remember: Industries are having to cut back on gas usage after imports of Israeli gas were suspended earlier this month due to the war in Gaza. The Madbouly cabinet revealed this week that the country’s gas imports have fallen to zero from 800 mn cubic feet of gas per day prior to 7 October. The loss of Israeli gas comes at an inopportune time for the country, which has been facing daily blackouts since July due to falling domestic gas production and a particularly hot summer. Longer and more irregular blackouts have been a feature across much of the country since the end of last week.

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