Chevron approves $2.36bn expansion of Israel's Leviathan gas field
Israel, the US, and UAE are in talks to seize Gaza's natural gas
Chevron and its partners have approved plans to greatly expand natural gas production at Israel's Leviathan field in the eastern Mediterranean, in an effort to supply Egypt and Europe with more than $35 billion worth of natural gas, Reuters reported on 16 January.
The approved expansion will increase gas deliveries from Leviathan to Egypt by 9 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year, bringing total deliveries to about 21 bcm. Gas not used domestically in Egypt will be liquefied at Egyptian terminals and shipped to Europe.
The Eastern Mediterranean has become a significant source of natural gas in recent years. Leviathan is one of the largest gas fields, holding an estimated 635 bcm in recoverable gas.
The expansion is expected to come online in 2029, at a cost of $2.36 billion. If successful, it will raise Israel's total gas output by more than 25 percent.
Chevron's partners in the Leviathan expansion project include Chevron Mediterranean Ltd, NewMed, and Ratio Energies.
Sales from Leviathan reached about 10.9 bcm in 2025, valued at $2.23 billion, NewMed said.
Egypt had hoped to become a major exporter of liquified natural gas (LNG) to Europe. However, the North African country has seen its gas production decline since 2022, forcing it to rely on imports from Israel to meet domestic demand.
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu first announced the $35 billion deal with Egypt in December (the largest in Israel's history), authorities in Cairo called it a "purely commercial" arrangement with no "political dimensions," in an effort to deflect criticism for helping fund Israel's genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
Throughout the genocide, Hamas has relied on Cairo as a key intermediary in negotiations with Israel. However, according to the Quincy Institute, “Cairo's ability to apply meaningful pressure on Israel is fundamentally constrained by the fact that Israel can, and has, turned off the gas tap for security and operational reasons.”
In December, officials from the US, Israel, and UAE held meetings to discuss exploiting Gaza's offshore gas supplies under the pretext of paying for the reconstruction of the destroyed enclave, Middle East Eye (MEE) reported, citing a former western official and a current western and Arab official.
One scenario under discussion involves the UAE's state energy firm, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), taking a stake in Gaza's undeveloped gas fields.
Large natural gas reserves were discovered in the Marine Field off Gaza's coast in 2000. However, Israel did not allow the Palestinian Authority (PA) to develop the fields.
The rights to develop the gas are shared by the Palestine Investment Forum, which is the PA's sovereign wealth fund, and the Consolidated Contractors Company, a construction and energy conglomerate owned by a Palestinian diaspora family based in Greece. About 45 percent of the rights are also reserved for an international partner.
TRT notes that Israel's overarching strategy from the time gas was discovered in Gaza in 2000 until now "has revolved mainly around monopolizing control over the natural gas reserves in Gaza Marine and the oil reserves along the West Bank-Israel border while simultaneously depriving the Palestinians of a fair share of revenues resulting from these resources."
The desire to take control of gas off the coast of Gaza may be one reason for Israel's ongoing genocide. If Israel is able to achieve its goal of ethnically cleansing Palestinians from Gaza and annexing the strip for Jewish settlement, this would allow it to take control of Palestinian's untapped gas wealth as well.