Israel's largest gas field Leviathan resumes production, easing global natural gas supply pressure.

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Israel's largest natural gas field, Leviathan, has resumed operations after a 33-day shutdown, bringing temporary relief to the already strained global natural gas market.

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

Egypt typically receives about 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily from Israel via pipeline. The supply interruption previously forced Cairo to urgently expand its liquefied natural gas imports and announce 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 desalination facilities. A large natural gas processing facility in Abu Dhabi also ceased operations due to a fire caused by intercepted falling debris. After the news was announced, Newmed’s Tel Aviv-listed shares rose as much as 1.6% intraday.

The war triggers shutdown, supply gap impacts global market

On February 28 this year, following an outbreak of conflict between Israel and Iran, Israeli authorities, citing security concerns, ordered a temporary shutdown of some gas fields. Leviathan subsequently entered a shutdown that lasted 33 days.

The impact of the shutdown quickly spread worldwide. On one hand, the war led to disruptions in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz; on the other hand, Qatar's world-leading liquefied natural gas plant was damaged in a missile attack. These factors, combined, further tightened the already constrained international natural gas supply.

Egypt bore the brunt, implementing emergency rationing measures. These included turning off streetlights early to conserve energy, and urgently expanding liquefied natural gas imports to fill the gap. Egypt typically receives about 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily from Israel via pipeline.

Newmed: Limited impact of shutdown on cash flow

According to regulatory filings from Friday, Newmed Energy disclosed that a preliminary assessment expects Leviathan’s one-month shutdown will not have a significant material impact on cash flow in 2026.

The company also stated that project partners plan to "study the possibility of seeking compensation from the state for the halt in gas production."

After the announcement, Newmed’s Tel Aviv-listed shares surged as much as 1.6% intraday. Currently, Newmed holds about 45% of Leviathan, Chevron holds just under 40%, and the remainder is held by Ratio Energies.

It is noteworthy that another Israeli gas field, Karish, has not yet resumed production. Operated by Energean Plc, this field was also halted at the government's request following the outbreak of war, and has yet to resume operations. The market remains watchful of its restart timeline.

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