Friday, May 9, 2014

Halliburton to set up East Med base in Cyprus | Financial Mirror

Halliburton to set up East Med base in Cyprus

09 May, 2014
Halliburton, one of the world's largest oilfield services companies with operations in more than 80 countries, has decided to set up a regional base in Cyprus to cover the eastern Mediterranean, government officials said on Friday.

Senior executives were received by President Nicos Anastasiades in the presence of Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis, who welcomed the Houston, Texas-based company, in a tweet: “Welcome @Halliburton. All the best servicing Exploration in #Cyprus EEZ. Thanks for the confidence in our potential.”

Later, Lakkotrypis told reporters Halliburton “will provide supportive services in the hydrocarbon exploration process within Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).”

He added that the presence of a company of that caliber in Cyprus constitutes a vote of confidence in Cyprus and its prospects, for the Cypriot economy, something which is much needed.

The Cypriot Energy minister further said that discussions with the company had been ongoing for some time, adding that President Anastasiades was personally involved.

He reiterated the government’s position that in the short term, growth will come from this type of supportive activities. He further said that there are other things in the pipeline which he hopes will be announced soon.
Halliburton is one of many companies hoping to service the exploration and production companies that have acquired licenses in the Cyprus offshore gasfields, as well as in neighbouring Israel and Egypt. Lebanon, too, is seeking to complete its first wave of bidding in order to award exploration licenses within its own economic zone.

Pipe supply giant Weatherford has had a long presence in Cyprus, for over a decade, servicing drilling and oil production companies in the Middle East and Africa, while Schlumberger is also reportedly keen to set up a base in Cyprus.

Last week, the oil-rig supply vessel, the CastorOne, operated by Italian giant Eni, anchored at Limassol port on its way to Egyptian gasfields, as Cyprus government officials are pondering over expansion plans at the main ports of Larnaca an Limassol that are slated for privatisation over the next four years.

“It’s a pleasure to be here in Cyprus today at the start of our operation to support our customers in the country of Cyprus in the ongoing efforts to hopefully produce oil and gas here in the Mediterranean”, Halliburton’s Senior Vice President for Europe and the Sub Saharan African Region Mark Richard.

He thanked the government of Cyprus so far “for their tremendous support and hospitality in helping us to get started here in the country”.

“Hopefully this is the start of many good years to come”, he said.

Replying to a question, he said they are going to build a base of operations in Larnaca.

Asked how many people they expect to employ, he said that will depend “on how much work we actually win from competitive tenders with our customers but it will be considerable at one point in time”.

Sources have suggested that Halliburton is expected to complete the construction of its facilities within the next two months. It is in talks with universities which offer relevant courses in Cyprus.

The same sources say that another company which is active in the same services sector, Schlumberger is also in talks with the government.

Potential customers include Noble Energy and its Israeli partners Delek and Avner, that are operating in the first Cyprus offshore block 12, the French Total and the Italian-Korean joint venture Eni-Kogas.



Link to source: http://www.financialmirror.com/news-details.php?nid=32497

Monday, May 5, 2014

The Lebanese-Israeli Maritime Border Conflict Explained | Natural Gas Europe


May 05th, 2014

The maritime border dispute between Israel and Lebanon remains unresolved. The neighbouring countries are technically in a state of war. The discovery of substantial amounts of natural gas off the coast of Israel (with the 10 tcf Tamar field and 19 Tcf Leviathan discovered respectively in 2009 and 2010) triggered third-party efforts to mediate the dispute in order to allow for the effective development of the hydrocarbon riches in the Levant basin. All attempts towards getting Lebanon and Israel to agree on the delimitation of their maritime borders have failed thus far.

Lebanon has not yet started drilling in its exclusive economic zone, delayed by a political deadlock. Results from seismic surveys suggest that its waters contain large quantities of natural gas (up to 95 tcf - according to a statement from previous energy minister Gebran Bassil). Neighbouring Cyprus also recently encountered natural gas in its Aphrodite field in Block 12 discovered in 2011. The estimated gross mean of the field is 5 Tcf, less than originally anticipated.

Amos Hochstein, U.S. deputy assistant secretary for energy diplomacy, is leading the US efforts to solve the dispute. He recently said that talks were moving forward without disclosing further details on the progress achieved.

The US efforts could be explained by the US’ economic interests in the Middle East and the US foreign policy for the region: supporting Israel’s security and providing incentives for political reconciliations. The maritime border conflict - if unresolved - could eventually lead to another military confrontation between Lebanon and Israel that would add to the instability of the region.

The two countries both claim a maritime triangular area of 850 square kilometers as their own. In 2011, they submitted their respective claims to the UN. The claims overlap and are incompatible with the previous accords negotiated between Lebanon and Cyprus in 2007 and Israel and Cyprus in 2010. The Lebanese-Cypriot agreement remains unratified to date while the Israeli-Cypriot agreement came into force in 2011.

While both countries can pursue exploration activities in their respective EEZs without conducting any drilling in the disputed area before a resolution is achieved, a solution would be beneficial to attract investors that may be reluctant to participate in disturbed waters. The fact that Israel and Lebanon have historically had tensed relations that never existed under normal diplomatic conditions renders the task of mediating their dispute difficult to say the least. However, optimists may argue that given that hydrocarbon riches are at stake, the two states would benefit from reaching a settlement.

Karen Ayat is an analyst focused on energy geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean. Email Karen on ayat_karen@hotmail.com. Follow her on Twitter: @karenayat










Link to source: http://www.naturalgaseurope.com/lebanese-israeli-maritime-border-conflict-explained

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Woodside Petroleum ponders a Leviathan Plan B | Brisbane Times

Woodside Petroleum ponders a Leviathan Plan B (01:16)

Woodside Petroleum has been struggling to complete its Israeli gas deal and sources are now telling us the company is starting to seriously think about other options, possibly a return of capital to shareholders. 04/05/14



Link to source: http://media.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/selections/woodside-petroleum-ponders-a-leviathan-plan-b-5398801.html