KEY POINTS
- Chevron is boosting Israeli gas flows and US LNG shipments to Egypt as demand rises.
- The company is weighing Leviathan field expansion and floating LNG projects to speed supply.
- Egypt’s $35 billion gas deal with Israel underscores dependence amid war in Gaza and global market tightness.
Chevron Corp. is ramping up natural gas flows from Israel and shipping liquefied natural gas from the United States to Egypt, a move underscoring the North African nation’s growing reliance on foreign fuel and the shifting geopolitics of energy trade in the Middle East.
Speaking at the Gastech conference in Milan, Chevron’s global gas president Freeman Shaheen said Egypt’s fuel demand has soared since local production slumped last year, forcing the country to resume LNG imports. “Egypt needs all the gas it can get,” he told industry executives and traders, signaling that the US major intends to deepen its role in Cairo’s supply mix.
Egypt’s return as a major LNG importer has tightened an already stretched global market, with imports now double the volumes seen in 2018, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
The surge has come even as Israel’s gas exports to Egypt continue despite the Gaza war, a conflict that briefly forced the shutdown of the Leviathan field — operated by Chevron — over security concerns.
Leviathan Expansion, Floating LNG Projects on the Table
Chevron currently feeds Egypt with pipeline gas from Leviathan and other Israeli assets and is considering further development to boost output. Cairo last month inked a $35 billion long-term deal with Israel, the biggest gas agreement in its history, highlighting the country’s dependence on its eastern neighbor despite ongoing regional tensions.
The US company has also secured 7 million tons of LNG from American terminals to bolster Egyptian supply. At the same time, it is evaluating the deployment of floating LNG (FLNG) production units — a faster and more flexible option than onshore terminals — in Israel and other markets such as Nigeria and Argentina.
“Through projects like Leviathan expansion and FLNG, we see opportunities to deliver gas more quickly and efficiently,” Shaheen said. “Egypt is central to that strategy.”
Beyond the eastern Mediterranean, Chevron’s position has been shaped by geopolitics as Washington’s partial easing of sanctions on Venezuela opened modest new opportunities. Analysts such as W. Schreiner Parker of Rystad Energy warn that the developments illustrate how tightly oil and gas markets remain bound to political maneuvering.
For Egypt, the convergence of declining domestic output, rising population, and geopolitical complexity makes Chevron’s supplies a critical lifeline. With new floating import terminals and longer-term deals, Cairo is positioning itself to secure fuel at almost any cost — even as its reliance on foreign suppliers deepens.
