Mediterranean gas field back online after shutdown due to regional safety woes

April 3rd, 2026

Chevron Mediterranean Limited (CML), a subsidiary of U.S.-headquartered Chevron, and its partners have resumed gas production from a giant natural gas project off the coast of Israel.

Chevron-operated Leviathan gas asset; Source: NewMed Energy

Following the U.S. and Israel’s launch of a military campaign against Iran, global markets were left to face the turmoil, as Qatar’s LNG exports, covering almost 20% of global supply, were stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The situation was further compounded by precautionary shutdowns of Israel’s Leviathan and Karish gas fields.

Chevron, as the operator with a 29.66% interest, has received a notification from the Petroleum Commissioner at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, according to which all preparations required for the resumption of operations of the Leviathan platform may be carried out.

As a result, the company and its partners, NewMed Energy (45.34%) and Ratio Energies (15%), have resumed production from the asset following the suspension of natural gas production due to the security situation.

According to NewMed, the partnership’s preliminary assessment indicates that the production suspension of 33 days is not anticipated to have a material impact on the expected cash flows for 2026, based on an updated Brent forecast.

“It is noted that the partnership intends to examine the possibility of receiving compensation from the State in connection with the suspension of gas production; however, at this stage, there is no certainty that such compensation will be received, nor as to its scope,” underlined the firm.

Chevron announced a final investment decision (FID) in January 2026 to expand the production capacity of the strategic Leviathan production platform. This work covers drilling three additional offshore wells, adding more subsea infrastructure, and enhancing the treatment facilities.

The Leviathan production platform is located approximately 10 kilometers off the coast of Dor, Israel. The plan is to raise total gas delivery to the country and the region to approximately 21 billion cubic meters (bcm) annually from the reservoir.