New Pipeline Paves Way for Increased Israeli Gas Exports to Egypt
State-owned Israel Natural Gas Lines Ltd (INGL) has completed a project to expand the pipeline system that delivers Israeli natural gas to Egypt, one of the shippers on the pipeline said.
The completion means all conditions for the first incremental increase in gas shipments from the Leviathan field offshore Israel to the North African country through buyer Blue Ocean Energy have been satisfied, Leviathan co-owner NewMed Energy LP said in a stock filing.
NewMed Energy has said the expansion project would add a 46-kilometer (28.58-mile) subsea section between the Israeli cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon to increase the capacity of the East Mediterranean Gas Pipeline to about 850 million cubic feet a day (MMcfd) or around 8.5 billion cubic meters (300.17 billion cubic feet) per year.
The Chevron Corp-operated Leviathan gas and condensate field can now deliver up to approximately 6.5 Bcm per year of gas to Egypt, "in addition to the current export capacity of the reservoir to Egypt of approx. 2 Bcm per year via the Jordan North export pipeline", according to the NewMed Energy filing this week.
Last year the Leviathan consortium signed an agreement with current buyer Blue Ocean Energy for an increase of 130 Bcm in gas deliveries to Egypt. The added quantities are expected to generate about $35 billion in revenue, NewMed Energy said August 7, 2025.
Under the amendment to the export agreement with Blue Ocean Energy, the total volume for Leviathan exports to Egypt will be increased in two increments, first by approximately 20 Bcm and later by about 110 Bcm.
Under the first increment, the volume will increase from 450 MMcfd or about 4.7 Bcm per annum to 650 MMcfd or about 6.7 Bcm per year. The increase will start from the date INGL completes the Ashdod-Ashkelon pipeline and the Leviathan consortium completes the field's third pipeline, according to NewMed Energy's announcement of the amended export agreement last year.
Earlier in 2026 the partners completed the third pipeline from Leviathan to the field's production platform. Along with platform upgrades, the new gathering pipeline has raised Leviathan's gas production capacity to about 14 Bcm per year, NewMed Energy said March 2, 2026.
Under the second increment, Leviathan's gas exports to Egypt would increase to about 11.9-12.9 Bcm per year. "It should be noted that this quantity was determined in consideration, inter alia, of the forecasted natural gas demand and supply of the Israeli domestic market, with the aim of guaranteeing the supply for the domestic market’s needs", NewMed Energy said in last year's announcement of the new deal with Blue Ocean Energy.
The second increment is subject to the Leviathan partners reaching a final investment decision (FID) on the field’s expansion project (Phase 1B) and a transmission agreement with INGL for the delivery of gas to Blue Ocean Energy on the Israel-Egypt border via the Nitzana pipeline. The Nitzana pipeline is part of a project approved by the Israeli government in May 2023 to build a new onshore connection between the Israeli and Egyptian gas transmission systems.
On January 16, 2026 NewMed Energy said the Leviathan consortium agreed on a $2.36-billion FID for stage 1 of Phase 1B. Expected to start operation in the second half of 2029, the first stage aims to increase Leviathan's production capacity to about 21 Bcm per year.
NewMed Energy, owned by Israel's Delek Group, holds a 45.34 percent stake in Leviathan. Operator Chevron owns 39.66 percent through Chevron Mediterranean Ltd. Ratio Energies LP, also an Israeli company, has 15 percent.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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