Israel orders reopening of largest gas field after ceasefire

(Bloomberg) — Israel ordered the resumption of production at its biggest natural gas field following a truce in hostilities with Iran, setting the stage for higher exports to Egypt.

The Chevron-operated Leviathan field was ordered to shut on June 13 as a precautionary measure following Israel’s attacks on Iran and Tehran’s subsequent retaliation. The Israeli Energy Ministry also ordered the reopening of the smaller Energean Plc-operated Karish field, which supplies the domestic market.

Chevron is working to resume regular production within a few hours, stakeholders NewMed Energy and Ratio Energies said in filings. Chevron declined to comment immediately. Energean also said it’s working to restart operations.

See also: Israel halts production at largest gas field following Iran airstrikes

The resumption of the pipeline gas flows — after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the ceasefire declared on Tuesday by U.S. President Donald Trump — will come as a relief to Cairo, which has been making contingency plans for importing alternative fuels. The shutdowns forced Egypt to halt supplies to several industries as it prioritized power generation.

Ratio estimated it lost $12 million of revenue from Leviathan’s halt. NewMed said its hit was about $39 million, including the royalties it gets from Karish. Chevron holds 39.66% in the Leviathan project, with NewMed owning 45.34% and Ratio Energies 15%.

Gas customers received a force majeure notice for the period during which production was suspended. Israel also exports gas by pipeline to Jordan, another nation affected by the field’s shutdown.

While some intermittent supplies resumed on June 20, the restart of the Leviathan field is likely to boost flows to pre-war levels. Egypt has also been buying large amounts of liquefied natural gas to avoid the power blackouts of previous summers. More LNG is slated to reach the country from July.

Chevron kept producing gas from its other field, Tamar, but its supply was directed to Israeli domestic customers when Leviathan stopped, the company said in earlier statements.