Israel’s largest natural gas field Leviathan resumes operations after 33 days of shutdown, providing a temporary relief to the already strained global natural gas market.

According to Bloomberg, a spokesperson for Newmed Energy LP, the stakeholder in the Leviathan project, stated that the gas field has resumed supplying gas to both the domestic Israeli market and export markets. Leviathan is operated by Chevron, located in the Eastern Mediterranean, and is Israel’s most important natural gas asset, as well as a key source of natural gas supply for Egypt.

Egypt typically receives about 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily via pipelines from Israel. The supply disruption has previously forced Cairo to urgently expand liquefied natural gas imports and implement a series of energy rationing measures.

However, tensions in the Middle East have not eased. Just hours before and after Leviathan’s restart, Iran launched a new round of attacks, causing a fire at a refinery in Kuwait, and damaging power and seawater desalination facilities. A large natural gas processing facility in Abu Dhabi also halted operations due to a fire caused by falling debris intercepted by defense systems. After the news was announced, Newmed’s stock price listed in Tel Aviv rose by up to 1.6% intraday.

War triggers shutdowns, supply gaps impact the global market

On February 28, this year, after the outbreak of conflict between Israel and Iran, Israeli authorities ordered the temporary closure of some gas fields for security reasons, putting Leviathan into a shutdown, which lasted 33 days.

The impact of the shutdown quickly spread globally. On one hand, the war disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz; on the other hand, Qatar’s largest liquefied natural gas plant was damaged by missile attacks. Multiple factors compounded, further tightening the already tight international natural gas supply.

Egypt is the most affected, implementing emergency rationing measures. These include turning off streetlights early to save energy and urgently expanding liquefied natural gas imports to make up the shortfall. Egypt usually receives about 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily via pipelines from Israel.

Newmed: Limited impact on cash flow from shutdown

In a regulatory filing on Friday, Newmed Energy disclosed that preliminary assessments indicate that a one-month shutdown of Leviathan is not expected to have a significant material impact on cash flow in 2026.

The company also stated that project partners plan to “explore the possibility of seeking compensation from the state for the cessation of natural gas production.”

After the announcement, Newmed’s stock price listed in Tel Aviv rose by up to 1.6% intraday. Currently, Newmed holds about 45% of Leviathan’s equity, Chevron owns slightly less than 40%, and the rest is held by Ratio Energies.

It is worth noting that Israel’s other gas field, Karish, has not yet resumed production. Operated by Energean Plc, it also halted operations at the government’s request after the outbreak of war and has not yet restarted. The market remains cautious about its reopening timetable.

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