Israel's Energy and Infrastructure Ministry has ordered the temporary suspension of production from the Energean Power floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit and the Leviathan natural gas reservoir following recent geopolitical escalation in the region, the operators said.
In a statement on Monday, Energean plc said it received notice from the ministry on Feb. 28 instructing it to halt production and activities at the Energean Power FPSO until further notice.
"The safety of Energean's staff is our top priority," the company said, adding that it is maintaining close dialogue with the ministry and relevant stakeholders to facilitate the safe resumption of production as soon as possible.
Separately, Chevron Mediterranean Limited, the operator of the Leviathan Project, said it had also received a directive from the minister on Feb. 28 requiring the suspension of operations at the Leviathan platform based on a security recommendation.
Accordingly, natural gas production from the Leviathan reservoir has been suspended, the partnership said.
The ministry further authorized the Commissioner of Petroleum Affairs to issue additional operational instructions. In a separate notice, the commissioner instructed Leviathan partners to prepare for a flexible operating policy, which could include temporary production halts depending on periodic security assessments and updates from authorities.
The Leviathan partners said they intend to notify customers of the activation of the force majeure clause under existing gas sales agreements due to the production suspension.
Holding rates in the Leviathan reservoir are 45.34% for NewMed Energy Balkan Limited, 39.66% for Chevron and 15% for Ratio Energies.
By Humeyra Ayaz
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr