Israel has ordered the shutdown of its massive Leviathan gas field, cutting off a critical supply line to Egypt just as regional tensions with Iran erupt into open conflict.
Chevron, the operator of Leviathan, confirmed the halt on Friday after Israel’s Energy Ministry issued the order, citing escalating security threats. Energean Plc also suspended output from its Israeli assets. The Leviathan shutdown is already impacting gas flows to Egypt, according to Bloomberg sources close to the pipeline network.
Egypt, facing peak summer demand and a widening domestic gas shortfall, now faces the prospect of emergency LNG purchases ahead of schedule—tightening an already brittle global gas market. European gas prices spiked as much as 6.6% Friday on the news.
The Leviathan field, located in the Levant Basin, is Israel’s largest energy asset with 22.9 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas and had been exporting record volumes to Egypt—981 million cubic feet per day in 2024, an 18% year-over-year surge. Egypt, with declining domestic production and LNG export ambitions, had increasingly leaned on Israeli imports to fill the gap.
Chevron’s Tamar field remains operational, and Energean’s Karish field continues to serve domestic Israeli demand. But if shutdowns persist, Egypt’s LNG export capacity—and its own power grid—could be strained, and Jordan’s access to gas also stands at risk.
The timing is striking. Just months ago, Leviathan’s operators announced plans to expand capacity from 12 to 21 billion cubic meters, with eyes on Europe as a key customer. Now, the field is offline as Israel braces for retaliation after launching strikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure.
For Egypt, the implications are immediate. For global gas traders, the situation underscores the fragility of East Med supply routes in a geopolitical flashpoint.
Chevron stated its personnel and infrastructure remain safe. But the gas isn’t flowing—and the regional energy balance just shifted overnight.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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