CAIRO: One of Egypt's largest fertiliser companies said on Thursday it would partially switch to hydrogen supplies as the country struggles with a shortage of natural gas that has led to widespread blackouts.

Abu Qir Fertilizers - along with three other major companies in the fertiliser and chemicals sector, Mopco, Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals, and KIMA - had said this week it would halt production due to the shortage of natural gas, a key input.

The closures coincided with a worsening of regular blackouts that Egyptians have experienced since last year, due to a surge in summer power consumption and the shortage of gas.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly blamed the shortage on a production halt in a neighbouring country, an apparent reference to Israel, and pressures on dollar resources.

He said on Tuesday Egypt would spend more than $1 billion to import enough gas and mazut fuel oil to end the blackouts this summer.

Egypt, the most populous Arab country, on Wednesday awarded its biggest a tender in years to buy 20 cargoes of liquefied natural gas to help meet summer demand, sources familiar with the matter said.

The tender was announced earlier this month and it is not clear if it was included in the plan announced by Madbouly.

The closures this week are the second time chemical and fertiliser companies have shut plants this month. The first shutdowns came after the government temporarily reduced gas supplies to plants.

However one of the companies, Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals, said in a stock exchange release on Thursday that its gas supply had resumed and its plants would restart on Thursday. (Reporting by Nafisa Eltahir Editing by Mark Potter, Elaine Hardcastle)