Chevron resumes natural gas supply from Israel's Tamar offshore field
LONDON/HOUSTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Chevron said on Monday it had resumed the supply of natural gas from the offshore Tamar field, a month after it was told by Israel to halt operations due to violence in the region.
The Tamar field, a major source of gas for Israel's power generators, is expected to reach full capacity within a few days, industry sources said. Around 20% of the gas from the field typically goes to neighbouring Egypt and Jordan.
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Israel's Energy Ministry had ordered a state of emergency for the sector and instructed Chevron to shut the field after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli territory, which sparked a conflict in the Gaza Strip and other parts of the region.
The platform, which can been seen from the northern Gaza Strip on a clear day, is within range of rocket fire. It is located about 25 km (15.5 miles) from the city of Ashdod along Israel's southern Mediterranean coast.
"We have resumed supplying customers in Israel and in the region from the Tamar production platform," Chevron said in a statement, adding that it was instructed by the Israeli government on Nov. 9 to resume operations.
Israel's largest offshore gas field, Leviathan, has continued to operate normally during the current conflict between Israel and Hamas, the militant Islamist Palestinian group that controls Gaza. Chevron operates and holds a 25% stake in Tamar, which delivers about 1% of its global output.
Without gas from Tamar, Israel relied more heavily on supplies from the Chevron-operated Leviathan field, which exports large volumes to Egypt, as well as Energean's Karish field.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso and Sabrina Valle; Writing by Steven Scheer; Editing by David Goodman, Alexander Smith and Paul Simao)