Israel brings gas fields back online after closure during Iran tensions
Israel's NewMed said on Wednesday the Leviathan natural gas field that supplies gas to Egypt and Jordan, shut down nearly two weeks ago due to the Iran-Israel conflict, would resume operations in the next few hours.
Two of Israel's three gas fields, Chevron-operated Leviathan and Energean's Karish, off its Mediterranean coast that provide the bulk of exports to Egypt and Jordan have been shut since June 13.
That left in operation only the older Tamar field, used mainly for domestic supplies.
The halt of Leviathan resulted in a loss in revenue of $12 million, according to a regulatory filing in Tel Aviv from Chevron's partners in Leviathan, NewMed and Ratio Energies, citing an initial estimate.
They added they intend to examine the possibility of receiving compensation from the state in connection with the production stoppage.
Energean and NewMed confirmed that the two fields had started operations after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire on Tuesday, adding that the process takes many hours.
Israel and Iran agreed a ceasefire on Tuesday.
Israel's Energy Ministry said that after a security assessment, the larger Leviathan field and smaller Karish would reopen, leading to the resumption of gas exports, a rise in state tax revenues and greater flexibility in managing the electricity and industrial sectors.
Israeli gas accounts for about 15-20 per cent of Egypt’s consumption, data from the Joint Organisations Data Initiative shows. The disruption to Israel’s gas supply had led Egyptian fertiliser producers to halt operations.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that pumping gas to factories will resume on Friday, according to a cabinet statement.
Leviathan produces 12 billion cubic metres of gas per year for sale to Israel, Egypt and Jordan. That will rise to some 14 bcm in 2026. Ratio Energies is a partner in Leviathan alongside Chevron and NewMed.
Two Egyptian sources told Reuters that imports from Israel were expected to rise gradually, with full operations likely by Saturday.
More imports come in the form of liquefied natural gas for regasification in Egypt. But while Egypt currently has three Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRUs), only one is operational.
The Energos Eskimo FSRU is expected to become operational soon, the sources said. The unit will be moved to the Sumed terminal, where it will be linked to the national gas grid.
"It could take around 11 to 23 days for the unit to become fully operational, although the ministry of petroleum could try to compress the time needed," one of the sources said.
(Reporting by Steven Scheer and Mohamed Ezz. Editing by Jan Harvey and Mark Potter)
