The Leviathan gas field is 130 kilometers from the northern city of Haifa [Getty]
Chevron Mediterranean has suspended expansion of Israel’s Leviathan gas field following threats made to Israel’s energy sector amid the spread of Israel’s war on Gaza to the rest of the region.
The company, a subsidiary of US oil company Chevron, decided to suspend work on the project for six months, according to an investor report published by Israeli company NewMed Energy, a partner in the project.
“Due to the escalation of the security situation, the work on laying the subsea pipeline as part of the Third Gathering Pipeline Project has been suspended until April 2025 or thereabouts,” the report said.
The Leviathan project, located 130 kilometers from the city of Haifa, is the largest energy project in Israel’s history, according to Chevron Mediterranean.
The completion of the third transmission pipeline would increase the maximum gas supply capacity of the project to 1.4 billion cubic feet (bcf) per day, up from the current maximum supply of 1.2 bcf.
In recent weeks Israel has taken its war on Gaza to Lebanon, with the Israeli air force killing hundreds of people in heavy aerial bombardment and the army launching a ground invasion of the south.
On 1 October Iran attacked Israel with roughly 200 ballistic missiles, striking sites in Tel Aviv and the Nevatim base in southern Israel.
Israel has vowed to respond to the strike, with Israeli and Western media speculating that such a retaliation could involve strikes on Iranian oil and gas fields.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have warned that any strikes against Iranian oil facilities would see a similar attack against Israel’s own energy sector.
In late July, the Israeli military said it had shot down a Hezbollah drone it believed was heading to Karish gas field.
In 2022 the Israeli military shot down three Hezbollah drones heading for the Karish gas fields following threats made by late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah over a disputed maritime boundary between Lebanon and Israel.