Energy War Brewing? Iran Signals Israel’s Biggest Gas Fields Could Be Next.”

The U.S.–Israeli war with Iran has officially reached Chevron’s Middle East growth engine. Israel ordered Chevron to shut production at its giant offshore Leviathan gas field after joint U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran and retaliatory attacks raised security risks to critical energy infrastructure.

Leviathan is Israel’s largest gas field and a key supplier to Israel, Egypt, and Jordan. In the first nine months of 2025, the field sold 8.1 billion cubic meters of gas, with Egypt taking more than half, Chevron followed the shutdown order by declaring force majeure, a formal notice that it cannot meet some contract obligations because of events beyond its control.

Israel’s energy ministry acted on a “security recommendation” when it told Chevron to suspend Leviathan operations until further notice, NewMed Energy said in a stock filing cited.

Chevron said that all personnel and facilities at Leviathan remain safe and that the company is complying with the temporary shut‑in directive from Israel’s Ministry of Energy.

When I look at that combination of forced shutdown plus expansion spending, it feels like a textbook example of geopolitical risk finally catching up with a big‑ticket growth narrative.

Chevron’s Leviathan pause is part of a broader pattern of Middle East energy assets going offline as the Iran war drags on. Israel has ordered shutdowns at multiple offshore gas fields and at its 197,000‑barrel‑a‑day Haifa refinery after U.S.‑Israeli strikes on Iran and retaliatory missile attacks.

Energean confirmed that it was told to suspend production at the Karish gas field, trimming Israel’s export capacity further, according to OilPrice. Those moves worsen the region’s gas balance because Leviathan and Karish both supply Israel’s domestic demand and exports to neighbors that rely heavily on imported gas, said Argus.

The disruption is not limited to Israel.

Qatar temporarily shut down its liquefied natural gas facilities at Ras Laffan and Mesaieed after drone strikes linked to the conflict, cutting around 20 percent of global LNG export capacity, according to Argus. Saudi Arabia also suspended production at its largest domestic refinery as a precaution after Iranian attacks and debris fell near key Gulf energy sites.

Global shipping is now tangled up in the conflict.

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been closed for days after Iran attacked multiple ships, effectively blocking a route that carries about 20 percent of global oil and gas supply, said Channel NewsAsia. Hundreds of oil and LNG tankers are stranded near hubs such as Fujairah, and shipping rates have jumped to record levels as the war intensifies, the same report said.

When I connect all of that, Leviathan’s shut‑in looks less like a one‑off and more like one link in a chain of outages stretching from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Gulf.

What this means for prices, inflation, and central banks

A regional supply shock like this rarely stays contained to energy traders’ screens. Global oil and gas prices have climbed more than 15% since the latest round of strikes began, with Brent crude up about 6 percent on one recent trading day to above $82 per barrel, according to Channel NewsAsia.

European gas prices have spiked roughly 40% on top of a previous 40 percent jump as Qatar’s LNG halt and Israeli disruptions tighten supply, Channel NewsAsia said. At the same time, gasoline prices in the United States have moved back above $3 a gallon, reversing some of the relief drivers saw earlier this winter.

Analysts are already warning that the energy shock could re‑ignite inflation and complicate central bank plans.