SEATTLE (Oil Monster):Israel has ordered a temporary shutdown of several natural gas fields following a joint military operation with the United States targeting Iran, escalating tensions across the Middle East energy corridor. The Israeli Energy Ministry described the halt as a precautionary security measure but did not specify which fields were affected.
Energean Plc confirmed it was instructed to suspend production at the Karish gas field. Meanwhile, operations at Israel’s major offshore assets — Leviathan gas field and Tamar gas field — remain under scrutiny. Chevron Corp., which operates both Leviathan and Tamar, declined to comment.
The move mirrors last year’s shutdowns when Israel halted production at Leviathan and Karish amid Iranian retaliation, disrupting exports to Egypt. Leviathan alone is contracted to supply approximately 4.5 billion cubic meters annually to Cairo, with a broader 130 billion cubic meter agreement scheduled from 2026 to 2040.
Egypt, which became a net gas importer in 2024, has increasingly relied on Israeli gas to reduce liquefied natural gas imports. Previous disruptions forced Egypt to curtail supplies to energy-intensive industries, including fertilizer manufacturing, underscoring the vulnerability of regional gas supply chains.
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