An oil and gas industry career was not on the radar of 45-year-old Yossi Abu, chief executive of Tel Aviv-listed independent NewMed Energy, until fate left its calling card.

The high-flying Israeli law graduate seemed set to carve out a future in government before a chance meeting saw him jump at the opportunity to join Delek Drilling, NewMed’s forerunner and a key player in the genesis of Israel’s booming gas industry through its interests in the huge Leviathan and Tamar fields.