Saturday, November 26, 2016

Oil Ministry announces new natural gas discovery in Shell’s Alam El Shawish Western Desert concession - ENERGY EGYPT / ENTERPRISE PRESS

November 26, 2016

An Oil Ministry report on the Alam El Shawish field in the Western Desert suggests that the concession has a production capacity of 20 mcf/d and preliminary estimated reserves of 500 bcf, Al Masry Al Youm reported. The well is operated by Royal Dutch Shell JV Badr El Din Petroleum (Bapetco). Production is expected to rise to 60 mcf/d when drilling is completed.

The Oil Ministry report says the results have encouraged Shell to increase drilling rigs from two to four. Shell have agreed to drill nine discovery wells in 2017 that could be increased depending on seismic scans due in 1Q2017, the report adds. We had noted the discovery back in September, when Aidan Murphy, chairman and CEO of Shell Egypt, said then that it could be one of the biggest in the Western Desert.

President Sisi approves amendments to Ras El Barr concession agreement between EGPC, Eni and BP - ENERGY EGYPT / EGYPT'S MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM

November 26, 2016

President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi issued on Monday an agreement between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and with the Italian Egyptian Oil Company (IEOC), a subsidiary of Eni, and UK’s BP. The deal is regarding explorations in Ras El Bar concession area in Nile Delta.

The future of East Med gas - IN CYPRUS / CYPRUS WEEKLY

November 26, 2016
Charles Ellinas

The future of East Med gas was the subject of a conference in Nicosia. It was organised by the Atlantic Council, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Istituto Affari Internazionali, PRIO and Strata Insight.

The conference considered both the global realities and trends, in terms of energy supplies, supply security, markets, demand trends, prices, availability of financing for projects, new technologies, but also geopolitical factors and risks.

The aim was to discuss how these have so far influenced offshore gas field development in the East Med, and how they will do so in the future.

The state of the global oil and gas markets and prices and where these are going and their impact are key issues for the development of East Med gas.

Friday, November 25, 2016

BP buys stake in Eni's giant Zohr gas field offshore Egypt - REUTERS

Fri Nov 25, 2016 | 1:07pm EST

By Agnieszka Flak and Karolin Schaps | MILAN/LONDON
(Editing by David Evans)

BP (BP.L) has agreed to buy 10 percent of Eni's (ENI.MI) Shorouk concession offshore Egypt, which includes the giant Zohr gas field, for $375 million, joining other oil majors in increasing bets on the growing gas market.

The deal gives Eni much-needed cash as part of its 5 billion euro divestment plan to continue investing and paying dividends despite weak oil prices.

The companies also agreed BP could purchase another 5 percent of the field before the end of next year, when the Zohr field is slated to start production, under the same terms and that BP would reimburse Eni around $150 million in past expenditure.

Israeli oil pipe operator eyes gasline to Turkey - NATURAL GAS WORLD

November 25th, 2016, 9:06amYa'acov Zalel

Israeli Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Co will explore the possibility of building a natural gas pipeline between the Leviathan gas field and Turkey, reported Calcalist, a business website. EAPC is the operator of a 250-km oil pipeline between the southern town of Eilat, Israel, on the most northern point of the Red Sea, and the oil terminal in the city of Ashkelon, on the Mediterranean.

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Libyan oil production dropped to 523,000 bpd - Sanallah - ECOFIN AGENCY

Thursday, 24 November 2016 - 10:08
Anita Fatunji

The Chairperson of the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC), Mustafa Sanallah (photo), has revealed that Libya’s oil production fell almost by 70 thousand barrels per day (bpd) due to electric and power issues.

Sanallah had recently announced that an explosion, believed to be caused by an electric issue, occurred at the control room of the Laheeb oil field on Tuesday. According to Sanallah, the 60,000 bpd rate that the NOC was able to sustain over the last period has stopped for the time being due to electric failures at the Al-Waha and Al-Diffa oil fields.

Delek units report rise in Tamar gas production - GLOBES

24/11/2016, 12:40
Nati Yefet

Avner and Delek Drilling saw profits rise in the third quarter due to higher natural gas production.

Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) units Avner Oil and Gas LP (TASE:AVNR.L) and Delek Drilling LP (TASE: DEDR.L) reported a rise in Tamar natural gas production in their third quarter financial results. During the third quarter of 2016, the Tamar gas field produced 2.6 billion cubic meters (BCM) of natural gas compared with 2.5 BCM in the corresponding quarter of 2015 and 2.3 BCM in the preceding quarter of 2016, and 2.2 BCM in the first quarter of 2016.

The well also produced 127,000 barrels of condensate in the third quarter compared with 117,000 in the corresponding quarter of 2015, 110,000 in the preceding quarter of 2016 and 104,000 in the first quarter of 2016.

Subsea 7 wins Egyptian offshore contract - OFFSHORE SUPPORT JOURNAL

Thu 24 Nov 2016

Subsea 7 has won a substantial contract to install subsea systems and pipelines on the Atoll project offshore Egypt

Some of the predicted contract awards for offshore construction and support vessels in the Eastern Mediterranean are starting to materialise. There has been great expectation recently that large gas discoveries in the region will result in new contracts for subsea construction companies and supporting vessels. In November, one of the first of the expected contracts was awarded.

Subsea 7 gained a substantial order for offshore construction work in Egypt. It gained the contract from Pharaonic Petroleum Co, an affiliate of BP, for subsea engineering, procurement, construction and installation work on the Atoll project. Subsea 7 will be responsible for installing more than 40km of rigid pipelines and associated structures for the new Atoll field. The water depths for the installation work range from 100m to 900m. Subsea 7 will also be tying these pipelines into the existing Taurt field facilities, which are in water depths of 100m, and installing 105km of umbilicals to connect subsea wells on the Atoll field.

Israel Tamar faces $13 billion class action - NATURAL GAS WORLD

November 24th, 2016, 8:55amYa'acov Zalel

An Israeli district court rejected November 23 a petition by the Tamar Partnership to dismiss a class action law suit alleging monopolistic pricing of natural gas in Israel. The district court rejected the request in a preliminary hearing. Now the court will have to hold a hearing whether to approve the class action before it goes to a full trial. The process can be quite lengthy as the class action was filed almost two and half years ago and the trial hasn’t started yet.

The plaintiffs estimated that the excess cost for the Israeli customers is NIS 2.5bn ($630 mn)/yr and asked the court to order Tamar partners to compensate the customers and reduce prices. The estimated excess cost for the duration of the contract was estimated at NIS 26.8-43.7 bn.

Partners in Israel Leviathan Gas Field Clinch $700 Million Deal - BLOOMBERG

November 24, 2016 — 11:02 AM EET Yaacov Benmeleh

The partners owning rights to Leviathan, Israel’s largest natural gas deposit, signed a $700 million contract to supply gas to Paz Oil Co., as arrangements to finance the project are nearing completion.

Paz, the country’s biggest fuel company, will receive about 3.1 billion cubic meters of gas over 15 years, according to a Tel Aviv Stock Exchange filing on Thursday. The deal would be the fourth linked to Leviathan.

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Libyan oil production shows signs of continued gains: Wood Mac - WORLD OIL

11/23/2016

LONDON -- Wood Mackenzie's latest study on Libya's oil production shows the country's output has doubled from 300,000 bopd in early September to close to 600,000 bopd today, adding to the global oil supply glut.

Although an OPEC member, Libya's output has fallen so drastically it won't be bound by any production restrictions. The country will seek to recover its lost market share, notably in southern Europe where refineries prize its light, sweet blends.

"Libya's oil production increases have occurred despite the absence of a political agreement between competing administrations, and an ongoing security vacuum," said Martijn Murphy, research manager at Wood Mackenzie.

Medserv awarded contract for logistics support to Eni North Africa - THE MALTA INDEPENDENT

Wednesday, 23 November 2016, 11:45

Medserv announced today that the company have been re-awarded a contract by Eni North Africa (EniNa) to provide logistics base and associated services for its exploration activities taking place offshore and onshore Libya. The contract duration is for a period of one year with the possibility of extending for another year. This contract comes into effect on the 1st of January 2017. These services are to be carried out at the company’s Malta base situated in the Malta Freeport.

This contract, in addition to the two-year major logistic and base support contract that came to market in 2016 for offshore Libya activity that was announced earlier this year consolidates the business pipe line for Medserv Operations and work levels for the Malta operation are expected to be high in the next three years, the company said in a statement.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

"Over 60% of Leviathan development plan already closed" - GLOBES

Yossi Abu, Delek Drilling CEO
22/11/2016, 16:33
Nati Yefet


Delek Drilling CEO Yossi Abu: We are in advanced stages of signing Leviathan financing agreements.

Yesterday, at the Eco Energy conference in Kfar Maccabiah, Delek Drilling LP (TASE: DEDR.L) CEO Yossi Abu said that over 60% of the Leviathan gas field development plan has been covered in financing agreements. "Since the approval of the outline, we have invested over half a billion of shekels in approving Leviathan plans and preparations, in order to ready Leviathan for investment."

"We will begin exporting gas from Tamar to Jordan as early as this year," Abu said. He said that as soon as Israel connects to the to the Jordan-Egypt pipeline it will be much easier for it to export to Arab countries.

Israel minister sees exports to Turkey - NATURAL GAS WORLD

November 22nd, 2016, 1:35pm
Ya'acov Zalel

Israel's energy minister Yuval Steinitz told a conference in Tel Aviv November 21 that the giant Leviathan and two other smaller gas fields offshore Israel, Karish and Tanin, will be developed come what may, and gas would then flow to Turkey.

He told the 2016 Israel Energy and Business Convention in Tel Aviv that there was no question about it. "I know it is sometimes neither simple nor easy. We have done what we had to do, the best I could, and now there is not a situation that timetables would be delayed. It will not happen. It is unthinkable."

The final investment decision (FID) for Leviathan has yet to be taken by the project's partners. Delek is adamant that the FID will be taken by the end of the year while Noble Energy, a 40% shareholder, and the operator, said it could be early next year. Delek Drilling CEO Yossi Abu said at the conference that the Leviathan partners were close to securing $4bn in finance for the field's development. "The Leviathan financing agreements are in the final stages of negotiations," Abu said at the conference. Last month Ratio, a 15% shareholder in Leviathan, had raised about $200mn in bonds in order to finance its equity investment in the project through a mezzanine debt.

Libya: Crude oil production reached more than 75,000 bpd from the Waha and Samah fields - Waha Oil Co - ECOFIN AGENCY

Tuesday, 22 November 2016 - 08:18
Anita Fatunji


In Libya, Waha Oil Co has said that its production has reached over 75,000 barrels per day (bpd) through the Waha and Samah fields and it is expected to increase further once the Jalu field comes online.

Output at the Waha field, resumed last month after several blocked ports were reopened and exports from the field, is being directed through the Ras Lanuf terminal, while renovation works are being carried out at the Es Sider terminal. Both ports were damaged by fighting.

Production has been crippled for years by an on and off blockade of the Libya’s largest export terminals, militant attacks by groups including Islamic State and the lack of a united government. According to Waha Oil Co, it expected output to increase when work at the port and pipelines from Jalu field to the Waha field was completed. The company however did not say when that might happen.

We are committed to be in Cyprus, says ENI Managing Director-General - FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE / CNA

Tuesday, 22 November, 2016

ENI believes there is a sense in investing in Cyprus and it is committed to be here especially at this particular period of time, ENI Cyprus LTD Managing Director Alessandro Barberis has said.

Speaking on Monday during a conference organised by the PRIO Cyprus Centre, in collaboration with the Atlantic Council, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Cyprus and Istituto Affari Internazionali and Strata Insight, Barberis said that ENI has a strong presence in this region and especially its activities in Egypt date back to 1954.

He added that after the discovery of Zhor gas field off the coast of Egypt, the position in the country has been reinforced. The finding of Zhor, he pointed out, opened a completely new era that was unknown. Barberis said that the company struggled a lot to find partners in Zhor and ended up drilling it 100% alone, but the risk was well paid by the results, he pointed out.

Noble Plans Sale of 10% Stake in Leviathan - HAARETZ

Nov 22, 2016 4:22 AMAvi Bar-Eli 
Proceeds would help Texas company raise badly needed cash to develop giant gas field.

After selling stakes in the Tamar gas field as well as its holding in the tiny Tanin and Karish fields for a combined $438 million over the past year, Texas-based Nobel Energy is now gearing up to sell part of its stake in the giant Leviathan reserve.

In a presentation to investors over the weekend, the company said it was looking to sell a 10% stake in Leviathan, whose 622 billion cubic meters of estimated reserves make it by far Israel’s biggest field. Noble now holds a 39.7% stake, making it the second-largest partner after Israel’s Avner and Delek Drilling, both units of Delek Group, which each have 22.7%. Ratio Oil holds the remaining 15%.

Monday, November 21, 2016

Cyprus gas via Turkey the most viable option, experts say - CYPRUS MAIL

November 21, 2016
Elias Hazou

Transporting natural gas to Turkey from Israel and Cyprus seems to be under current market conditions the most viable option, but not without geopolitical risks, experts said on Monday at a conference titled ‘The Future of Eastern Mediterranean Gas’.

The conference, the fourth in a series on energy in the eastern Mediterranean, was organised by the Prio Cyprus Centre, in collaboration with the Atlantic Council, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Cyprus and Istituto Affari Internazionali and Strata Insight.

Charles Ellinas, non-resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, said that in the long term the transport of natural gas through a floating LNG (FLNG) plant is a serious option, since options such as exporting gas to Europe through Egypt, through the mooted East Med pipeline or through Turkey, seem not to be viable because of low prices internationally.

Cyprus positions itself to tap regional LNG growth - LNG WORLD SHIPPING

Mon 21 Nov 2016

Cyprus Department of Merchant Shipping acting director Ioannis Efstratiou sets out the east Mediterranean island nation’s LNG-development priorities

The LNG market is firmly embedded within the new shipping strategy that Cyprus’ minister of transport, communications and works recently announced, that aims to consolidate and develop Cyprus’ role in world shipping.

Following the discovery of several sizeable natural gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean in recent years, the opportunity for Cyprus to become an energy hub and leading regional transporter of natural gas continues to flourish.

Israel gas partners close to $4-billion financing for Leviathan - WORLD OIL / BLOOMBERG

21 November 2016
YAACOV BENMELEH

TEL AVIV (Bloomberg) -- The companies that own the rights to Israel’s largest natural gas pool are close to securing the $4-billion financing needed to develop the field, according to the CEO of one of the partners.

"The Leviathan financing agreements are in the final stages of negotiations," Delek Drilling LP CEO Yossi Abu said in a Tel Aviv conference on Monday, referring to the Israeli gas reservoir.

With a large export contract already in hand, obtaining the funds is the next milestone for the gas explorers looking to tap the Leviathan pool, led by U.S.-based Noble Energy and billionaire Yitzchak Teshuva’s Delek Group Ltd. The partners signed a $10-billion deal with Natural Electric Power Co. of Jordan two months ago.

Amendment to Agreement for the Supply of Natural Gas between the Tamar Partners and the Israel Electricity Corporation - Update - DELEK GROUP


Tel Aviv, November 21, 2016

Delek Group (TASE: DLEKG, US ADR: DGRLY) (“the Company”) announces that pursuant to what was stated in section 7.12.4(A)(3) of the Company's Annual Report to December 31, 2015 (as amended) that was published on May 30, 2016 (ref. no. 2016-01-037758), and the Company's Immediate Report dated September 4, 2016 (ref. no. 2016-01-116773) concerning signature of the amendment to the agreement between the Tamar project partners, including Delek Drilling Limited Partnership and Avner Oil Exploration Limited Partnership, ("the Tamar Partners") and the Israel Electricity Corporation Ltd ("IEC") concerning exercise of the option to increase the amounts of gas that the IEC will require, provided below is an Immediate Report published by each of Delek Drilling Limited Partnership and Avner Oil Exploration Limited Partnership (jointly "the Partnerships"), concerning receipt of approval for the agreement amendment from the financing bodies of the Tamar Partners.

Italy's Eni says Egypt Nooros gas field producing 900mln cubic feet per day - REUTERS

Mon Nov 21, 2016 11:41am GMT
Reporting by Ali Abdelaty; Writing by Eric Knecht; Editing by Louise Heavens

CAIRO Nov 21 (Reuters) - Italian oil major Eni said its Egypt Nooros field is a producing almost 900 million cubic feet of gas per day and will top 1 billion cubic feet per day in the first quarter of 2017, Egypt's state news agency MENA reported.

Once an energy exporter, Egypt has turned into a net importer in recent years, squeezed by declining production and increasing consumption.

It is racing to reverse that trend, speeding up the development of major gas discoveries with a stated goal of achieving energy self-sufficiency by 2020.

Eni began production at its Nile Delta offshore field Nooros in September 2015.

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Can the American-Israeli Alliance Go to Sea? - FAMILY SECURITY MATTERS

November 20, 2016
ANDREW E. HARROD

"In a world of important and rapidly transforming regions, none is more strategically significant and wildly volatile than the Eastern Mediterranean."

During a recent Hudson Institute panel, former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith echoed a report that has been co-written by the Hudson Institute and the University of Haifa and which calls for the United States and Israel to collaborate in a mutually beneficial Mediterranean naval buildup amidst increasing global naval threats.

According to Hudson Institute naval expert Seth Cropsey, the United States Navy's Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean once had two aircraft carriers and a large contingent of marines permanently assigned to it. This is in dramatic contrast to the report references, which pointed out that following post-Cold War cuts, the "Sixth Fleet's permanent naval presence is now a single command ship in Italy and four Aegis destroyers equipped for ballistic missile defense, all based in Rota, Spain, just outside the Mediterranean." Retired United States Navy Admiral Gary Roughead said that Americans "have essentially ceded the Eastern Mediterranean, at least from a maritime perspective."

Apache to invest $960m in western desert concessions during current fiscal year - DAILY NEWS EGYPT

20.11.2016Mohamed Adel

Ongoing discussion in regards to increasing FY 2017/2018 investments with Apache’s officials, says Abdel Azim
The American Apache Corporation is planning on investing $959.7m for researching, exploring, and developing fields in its concession area in the western desert during the current fiscal year (FY), compared with $796m in FY 2015/2016.

Mohamed Abdel Azim, head of the Khalda Petroleum Company, said in an interview with Daily News Egypt that their foreign partner’s investments will be divided into $552.5m for drilling development wells, $346.4m for implementing the exploration plan, and $62.8m for operating expenses of the concession areas in FY 2016/2017. He explained that there are ongoing discussions with Apache officials in regards to setting a demo plan for FY 2017/2018, to agree on increasing investments to raise oil and natural gas production rates in the western desert, to offset the natural decline of the fields and to work on increasing reserves.

ICIS: Egypt juggles fuel supply loss with currency flotation, subsidy cuts - ENERGY EGYPT

November 20, 2016

Egypt will look for lucrative long-term deals to import refined products or turn to spot tenders with international traders to meet the vacuum left by Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco)’s reported decision to indefinitely suspend its supply arrangement with the country, according to analysts.

Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) is currently seeking seven cargoes totalling 259,000 tonnes of low-sulphur gasoil for December delivery, a trader said when asked about tender news.

The terms of such spot tenders will be market-driven and less favourable to Egypt, James McCullagh, oil products analyst at Energy Aspects said.

Shell to boost deepwater investments, but is owed substantially by government - ENERGY EGYPT / ENTERPRISE PRESS

November 20, 2016

Shell will be increasing exploration and drilling at its deepwater concessions in Burullus and Rosetta concessions, according to statements by Aidan Murphy, Shell Egypt VP and country chairman.

The company plans to expand its investments there following promising data on the size of the concessions. Murphy also stated that the company is owed a substantial sum by the government, Al Shorouk reports, possibly tying these future investments to the government’s ability to payback its arrears.