Israel has recommenced limited natural gas exports, prioritising domestic needs, according to the country’s Energy Ministry.
This move comes nearly one week after the shutdown of two significant offshore fields due to military activities in the region.
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The Ministry Spokesperson conveyed to Reuters that the resumed exports are derived from surplus supplies.
While most of the limited exported gas is currently flowing to Jordan, only “tiny volumes” have reached Egypt this week, as per an Energy Ministry source.
The halt in exports began on 13 June following military escalation, leading to the closure of the Leviathan and Karish fields, operated by Chevron and Energean, respectively.
During this period, only the Tamar field remained operational, catering mainly to Israel’s domestic demand.
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By GlobalDataIsraeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen stated that exports would only resume once military authorities deemed it safe.
He told Reuters: “I don’t want to use our strategic storage, so therefore, I needed to cut exports.”
Egyptian fertilizer producers, impacted by the supply disruption, have not yet received gas but are expecting flows to resume next week.
Israeli gas is a crucial component of Egypt’s energy mix, representing up to 60% of its gas imports and around a fifth of its total consumption, as reported by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI).
Egypt has been hard-pressed to find alternatives to gas from Israel, which has become a significant importer due to a decline in domestic production in 2022.
To bridge the supply gap, Egypt has increased fuel oil usage in power plants and secured deals to import more than $8bn (E£405.35bn) worth of liquefied natural gas. The country is also preparing additional floating regasification units.
The Egyptian Petroleum Ministry has not provided comment on the matter.
