Export Growth
April 14, 2026
Iranian drone attack prompts EGA to declare force majeure
Written by Kristen DiLandro
Damage from a drone attack at its Al Taweelah plant has led Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) to declare a force majeure on some of its products.
EGA said in a statement to The National on Sunday, April 12, that while not all of EGA’s customers would be affected, the damage was significant enough to warrant the declaration. The company operates two smelters in the United Arab Emirates, Al Taweelah and Jebel Ali (DUBAL), and the disruption is tied to tis Al Taweelah site.
A force majeure clause protects suppliers from the legal liability when they are unable to fulfill contract terms due to extreme conditions beyond their control. In this case, production and delivery delays tied to regional conflict have put some contracts in jeopardy.
“Many customers remain unaffected, but we have had to declare force majeure in some cases for certain products,” EGA said, according to The National.
The company said it isn’t providing a timeline for repairs until a full assessment is completed.
US exposure
EGA’s Al Taweelah smelter ranks among the largest global suppliers across multiple product categories. According to 2025 production estimates from CRU’s Aluminum Casthouse Shapes Market Outlook, the site ranks as the largest global producer of primary foundry alloys by output when Chinese producers are excluded.
Those alloys represent one of the most exposed segments of EGA’s output to the US market. Department of Commerce data show the UAE accounted for nearly 18% of US imports in that category in 2025; excluding Canada, that share rises to more than half of imports. While EGA’s Jebel Ali (DUBAL) smelter is also a significant producer of primary foundry alloys and ranks second globally outside China, Al Taweelah remains the company’s largest source of that material.
The UAE is also a critical supplier of high-purity metal, accounting for roughly 97% of US imports of unwrought aluminum ingot with more than 99.9% purity.
Global exposure
More broadly, CRU production estimates place the Al Taweelah smelter among the largest global producers, including fourth in billet and sixth in slab production outside China.
However, billet capacity is more concentrated at EGA’s Jebel Ali smelter, which ranks as the largest billet producer globally outside China, suggesting greater redundancy in EGA’s billet supply.
By contrast, Al Taweelah is EGA’s only slab-producing site, limiting the company’s ability to offset any disruption.
Looking ahead
“Al Taweelah alumina refinery and Al Taweelah recycling plant may be able to restart some production earlier, depending on the final assessment of site damage,” the company said to The National.
On March 28, Iranian attacks caused damage to EGA’s Abu Dhabi production centers and Aluminum Bahrain (Alba). According to reporting by The National, EGA expects repairs in Abu Dhabi to take up to a year, while aluminum shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remain delayed.
