Energy News — Chevron Is Forced To Shut Down Offshore Gas Operations In Israel

Offshore energy projects in the Eastern Mediterranean are getting into some trouble lately. The latest news about Chevron’s offshore natural gas operations in Israel’s Tamar offshore production field is a case in point.

Due to Hamas’ strikes on Israel, the Israeli government forced Chevron to stop all operations in the Tamar offshore area. The company’s operations in the Levanthian field remained on schedule, nevertheless.

Read a full story about how attacks on Israel are relevant to global oil markets in Areas & Producers.

The Eastern Mediterranean offshore gas deposits form a key part of the geopolitical shifts in this martime region, which is why Chevron was allowed to continue operations at the Levanthian field; it’s too important to the region’s energy supplies.

Cyprus already rejected Chevron’s latest proposal to develop the Aphrodite natural gas field — a gas field in the Eastern Mediterranean controlled by a consortium of international oil companies such as Chevron, Shell and NewMed Energy.

Cyprus’s Aphrodite natural gas field is crucial to the country’s energy security in the near-term. That’s why it must use all of its power and influence to negotiate the best deal for the country’s national interests. This offshore development project will undoubtedly cause international issues, since Israel and Egypt are two of the main beneficiaries of the gas export scenarios.

Turkey also has its own interests in a nearby offshore gas field in the Eastern Mediterranean. Since sanctions on Russian energy exports are causing countries to rethink industrial policies, this will be another issue of leverage between Russia and Turkey in the future.

Chevron announced on 12 September 2023 that it will acquire “a majority stake in the world’s largest proposed storage facility for hydrogen from renewable energy.”

This deal is related to a previous acquisition of ACES Delta located in Utah, for which more details are provided in the Reuters link above.

The global hydrogen market has already projected to be larger than the LNG market by 2030. Since hydrogen fuels in developing countries have significant opportunities in this market, such as North Africa, where there’s a big push among producers to source green hydrogen and ammonia.

In this context, it’s important to know why oil and gas producers, such as Chevron, are keeping their commodity portfolios ahead of geopolitical shifts.

For instance, Chevron has been making moves in the US permian basin, where the company intends acquired another US-based shale producer — PDC Energy — for a total transaction value of $6.3 billion.

This deal is being heralded as one of the first of many in a new wave of shale production asset acquisition to come in the oil and gas industry.

According to Argus Media, the deal gives Chevron a boost in its proved reserves by 10% with the acquisition of 275,000 net acres in Colorado and Wyoming, as well as 25,000 net acres in the Permian basin.

Here’s some more content from Areas & Producers about the energy transition strategies of other international oil companies, and how they are making the headlines right now.

The content in Areas & Producers provides a methodology for readers and writers who are curious about global trends and the future of the world.