Tel Aviv ( Europe Brief News): Israel has resumed limited gas exports after shutting offshore fields during conflict with Iran, but exports to Egypt remain on hold, says the Energy Ministry.
A ministry spokesperson told Reuters that exports are now resuming
“from surpluses, after domestic needs are met.”
According to a source in the energy ministry, only “tiny volumes” of the limited exported gas made it to Egypt this week; the majority is currently going to Jordan.
Egyptian fertilizer manufacturers, which had to shut down their operations because of the supply interruption, told Reuters that although they have not yet received any gas, they anticipate that flows will start up again next week.
A request for comment from Reuters was not immediately answered by the Egyptian Petroleum Ministry.
Israel closed the Chevron-operated Leviathan field and the Energean-operated Karish field on June 13 in response to the military escalation in the area. The Tamar field, which primarily supplies domestic needs, is the only one still in operation.
On Wednesday, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen stated that shipments will only start up again if military officials gave the all-clear.
“I don’t want to use our strategic storage, so therefore, I needed to cut exports,”
he told Reuters.
Egypt is rushing to make up for the supply shortage after its domestic gas production fell in 2022, making it more and more dependent on Israeli gas.
The nation has made agreements to import more than $8 billion worth of liquefied natural gas, increased the usage of fuel oil in power plants, and is getting ready to build more floating regasification units.
According to figures from the Joint Organizations Figures Initiative (JODI), up to 60% of Egypt’s total gas imports and about 5% of its total consumption are usually from Israel.
What impact will ongoing conflict have on Israel’s future gas exports?
Israel’s Energy Minister Eli Cohen has made it clear that gas exports won’t start up again until military officials say it’s safe to do so. Due to security concerns, two of Israel’s three largest offshore gas fields—Karish and Leviathan—remain closed at the moment, which restricts export potential. Because of this cautious approach, exports will probably continue to be restricted for as long as the conflict lasts.
Export volumes have drastically dropped since only the older Tamar field, which mostly meets domestic demand, is now functioning. At the moment, Jordan receives the majority of the meager exports, with very little going to Egypt. In the event that the conflict worsens or is not resolved, this decrease is anticipated to persist.
Major Israeli gas consumers, Egypt and Jordan, are experiencing supply problems. Egypt in particular must stop producing fertilizer and utilize more fuel oil to generate electricity.
