On September 22, Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) confirmed that several nickel smelters in the park had reduced production, including RKEF facilities producing nickel pig iron (NPI). The main cause was El Niño, which reduced river water volumes in surrounding areas and tightened water supply.
Dedy Kurniawan, Head of Media Relations at IMIP, said on Tuesday (September 22, 2026): "This situation has affected several smelters in the IMIP park, including NPI production. However, regarding the volume of the reduction, we have not yet obtained exact figures from tenants." He added that the cuts have not yet led to smelter shutdowns or layoffs, and the company has provided clean water assistance to residents in Bahodopi District.
IMIP responded that it is still calculating the specific production cuts of each tenant and cannot yet confirm the figure. IMIP previously estimated that El Niño could reduce park output by 30%–40%. The park's installed nickel smelting capacity is about 4.2 million mt/year, equivalent to about 350,000 mt/month.
In addition, Nickel Industries' ENC HPAL project has also been constrained in its capacity ramp-up due to insufficient water supply. Justin Werner, Managing Director of the company, said in an official announcement on September 15, 2026: "ENC has performed very well since commissioning, reaching about 50% of installed capacity within four weeks, which is a tangible achievement by the operations team." He said the dry conditions in Central Sulawesi are an unusual and temporary water supply constraint, and water supply is expected to return to normal once the rainy season begins. During the drought, ENC is expected to operate at about 30% of capacity.
