Friday, February 8, 2019

Serbia ready to begin construction of its TurkStream section — Srbijagas - TASS

February 08, 6:27 UTC+3

BELGRADE, February 8. /TASS/. The Serbian side is ready to begin the construction of its section of the TurkStream gas pipeine to run from the Bulgarian to the Hungarian border, national gas company Srbijagas has said.

"Serbia is ready for the construction of this project, the first 300 million euro have already been secured, the construction is to begin in late March or early April. The construction is to be completed by December 15," Srbijagas Director General Dusan Bajatovic said at a session of the parliamentary Committee on the Economy, Regional Development, Trade, Tourism and Energy on Thursday.

The official added that "there should be no obstacles" on behalf of the Energy Community, an international organization established between the European Union and a number of third countries to extend the EU internal energy market to Southeast Europe and beyond.

Earlier, the Energy Community’s secretariat has expressed its opinion on the project, which Serbia deemed favorable. This opinion should serve as a basis for a permission from Serbia’s energy authority. After that, the construction can begin.

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Exxon reportedly discovers oil in Cyprus Block 10 - KATHIMERINI / KNEWS

07 FEBRUARY 2019 - 10:15
Apostolis Tomaras

A sufficiently large and commercially viable oil reservoir has been reportedly discovered in Cyprus's Block 10 Glaucus target, according to Kathimerini sources.

Official results from Exxonmobil are not expected until the end of next week. The information comes from sources with knowledge of the matter.

The news of the discovery comes following uncertain indications regarding natural gas deposits in an earlier exploratory drilling at Delphini target, also in Block 10.

A sufficiently large and commercially viable oil reservoir has been discovered in Cyprus's Block 10

According to 'technocratic sources', Kathimerini has learned that the geological formations of the Glaucus target are limestone sedimentary rocks. To confirm that oil has been found, it would mean, according to the same sources, that the Exxonmobil drill has reached about 6 km deep.

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

The Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum: A Lebanese perspective - MIDDLE EAST STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVES / EXECUTIVE MAGAZINE

February 6, 2019

Energy Ministers from Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority took an important step in Cairo toward establishing an Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) on January 14. According to the declaration that followed the meeting, the EMGF will, among other things, assist in the creation of a regional gas market, ensure security of supply and demand, optimize resource development, facilitate the use of existing infrastructure and build new ones if necessary, etc. Intra-regional cooperation in this part of the world was at best marginal before the discovery of major hydrocarbon resources. Since 2009, shared interests and a series of gas discoveries have encouraged dialogue. The EMGF appears to be the first tangible result of these new regional dynamics.

The Forum’s raison d’être is regional energy cooperation. Almost ten years to the day after the announcement of the discovery of Tamar (January 17, 2009) – the first major gas discovery in the Levant Basin – it has become increasingly clear that regional cooperation is needed to make the most out of the region’s resources. The Eastern Mediterranean’s gas potential is promising. But, beside Egypt, the countries in the region have to deal with a number of challenges to exploit their resources. First, these resources are mostly offshore, in deep and ultra-deep waters. When found in commercial quantities, their extraction is expensive. Second, the relevant infrastructure to monetize these resources is quasi-inexistent (outside Egypt).

Egypt’s natgas regulator to begin issuing licenses to private sector - ENTERPRISE

Wednesday, 6 February 2019

Natgas regulator to begin issuing licenses to private sector: The Natural Gas Regulatory Authority will reportedly begin issuing this month private sector gas import and distribution licenses, almost a year after it said it’s open for requests, a source from the Oil Ministry said, according to Al Shorouk. 

Licenses will come at a cost of EGP 50k alongside an EGP 500k deposit. News came after the regulator, which was made responsible last year licensing under the Natural Gas Act, postponed its first issuance in September, saying the private sector was “unprepared.” 

The authority is handling requests from at least 14 companies, including Rosneft. It also set fees last year for the private sector’s use of the state’s natgas grid.

Sunday, February 3, 2019

Lebanon hopes to resume natural gas imports from Egypt - ENTERPRISE

Sunday, 3 February 2019

Lebanon is hoping to once again import natural gas from Egypt under the terms of a 2009 gas supply contract, Lebanese Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil said at a meeting on Thursday with Oil Minister Tarek El Molla, according to a ministry statement. 

Khalil did not provide a time frame for the potential move. 

France’s Total is due to begin drilling for natural gas in Lebanon’s offshore concessions later this year as part of the Lebanon’s plans to become a natural gas producer itself in the near future.

Beyond Energy: The Significance of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum - INSS

February 3, 2019, INSS Insight No. 1133
Ofir WinterGallia Lindenstrauss

The Energy Ministers of Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority met in Cairo in mid-January 2019 to discuss the establishment of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, which will serve as the umbrella for cooperation and dialogue regarding the development of gas resources in the region. While the subject of energy is the basis for the forum, there are also broader geostrategic processes that led to its establishment, and they reflect the regional states’ shared perceptions regarding the importance of the Eastern Mediterranean to their national security. The countries of the region could leverage these processes into additional partnerships in the Eastern Mediterranean, beyond the issue of gas resources. However, to serve as a base for long term regional strategic development, the Gas Forum must achieve other objectives: strengthen regional recognition – particularly in Arab countries – of the potential value of cooperative relations in the Eastern Mediterranean that include Israel; increase the human and civic interactions between all peoples of the region; and continue to foster the concept of a shared regional space.