Egypt’s natural gas imports from Israel have dropped 19 percent on Monday after Chevron Corp. was instructed by Israeli energy ministry to shut down the Tamar natural gas field.
The country’s gas imports from Israel fell to 650 million cfd, a government source told Bloomberg Asharq.
Chevron operates the field, which is a major source of gas to Israel’s power generators and industry. Earlier on Monday, Israeli energy ministry said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government had authorised Energy Minister Yisrael Katz to order a state of emergency for Israel’s energy sector over the next two weeks, if deemed necessary.
Tamar natural gas field is around 12 miles from the Gaza Strip.
The Tamar shutdown is temporary and Egypt will continue to receive gas from Leviathan gas field, the source added.
