Israeli gas supplies to Jordan from the Leviathan field resumed on Friday after a 33-day interruption, Jordanian officials confirmed, a development that could ease mounting supply concerns in the kingdom’s energy market since the outbreak of the war with Iran. A senior official at Jordan’s National Electric Power Company told Arab media that the flow of Israeli gas has resumed and that volumes are expected to return to normal levels within days.
The official explained that the volume of gas supplied is not fixed, but depends on Jordan’s daily needs, “taking into account the flexibility of existing contracts with the Israeli side.” Alternatives to Israeli gas have cost Jordan an average of $4 million per day over the past month, adding pressure to already strained public finances.
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The Leviathan natural gas platform.
(Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
The Leviathan natural gas platform resumed operations last week, five weeks after being shut down due to the war. The platform was shut down along with Energean’s Karish field at the start of the conflict, after Israel’s defense establishment determined that missile strikes on inactive rigs would cause less damage than hits on active (“hot”) facilities.
Leviathan supplies roughly 10% of Israel’s domestic gas needs, with the majority exported to Egypt and Jordan. The halt in exports at the start of the war exposed both countries to significant energy shortages.