Israel's Leviathan gas field to resume operations after shutdown during Iran war

Israel's NewMed said on Wednesday that the Leviathan natural gas field, which 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, which provide the bulk of exports to Egypt and Jordan, have been shut since 13 June.

That left only the older Tamar field in operation, used mainly for domestic supplies.

Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire on Tuesday.

Israel's Energy Ministry stated that, following a security assessment, the larger Leviathan field and the smaller Karish field would reopen, leading to the resumption of gas exports, an increase in state tax revenues, and greater flexibility in managing the electricity and industrial sectors.

Israeli gas accounts for about 15-20 percent 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.

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 increase gradually, with full operations likely to resume 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, according to the sources. 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.

(Reuters)