Egypt Daily News – Israeli company NewMed Energy said on Wednesday that the Leviathan natural gas field, which supplies gas to Egypt and Jordan, will resume operations in the coming hours. The field had been shut down for about two weeks due to the conflict between Iran and Israel.
Meanwhile, a statement from the Egyptian Cabinet quoted Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly as saying: “Gas supply to several factories that had halted operations in recent days will resume next Friday.”
Since June 13, two of Israel’s three gas fields Leviathan, operated by Chevron, and Karish, operated by Energean located off its Mediterranean coast, have been shut down. These two fields provide the majority of gas exports to Egypt and Jordan.
Only the older Tamar field has remained operational, mainly serving domestic demand. Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire on Tuesday.
Impact of the shutdown on Egypt and Jordan
Leviathan produces 12 billion cubic meters of gas annually for sale to Israel, Egypt, and Jordan. This production is expected to rise to about 14 billion cubic meters in 2026.
Egypt’s preparations to resume imports
Two Egyptian sources said that imports from Israel are expected to increase gradually, with full operations likely to resume by Saturday.
Additional imports will come in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for regasification in Egypt. Although Egypt currently has three floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), only one is currently in operation.
The sources said that the regasification vessel Energos Eskimo is expected to enter service soon. The unit will be moved to the SUMED terminal to connect it to the national gas network.
One of the sources noted that it may take between 11 and 23 days for the unit to become fully operational, adding that the Ministry of Petroleum might try to shorten the time needed to complete the process.
