Qatar's Qatalum starts gradual aluminum production shutdown amid gas supply halt

Qatalum, a primary aluminum producer based in Qatar's coastal city of Mesaieed, has begun a gradual halt of its smelting operations starting from March 3, according to an announcement released the same day by one of the joint venture's shareholders.

The move came after the company's gas supplier had notified Qatalum of an impending suspension of gas deliveries, the announcement said. The orderly shutdown is scheduled to be completed by late March. A full restart could take six to twelve months. However, if the plant is fully shut down, the timeline for