Saturday, May 4, 2019

EU and Egypt warn Turkey against drilling off Cyprus - ARAB NEWS

May 04, 201918:37 
  • Turkey said its vessels would be carrying out drilling operations in the Mediterranean until September
  • According to reports in the Cypriot media, the operation will encroach on Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone
BRUSSELS: The EU and Egypt on Saturday urged Turkey to reconsider plans to start exploratory drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus, already condemned as illegal by the European Union.

The Egyptian foreign ministry warned of the repercussions of "any unilateral measures on the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean region."

"Any actions by states in the region need to abide by the rules of international law and its provisions," the ministry statement said.

The EU's diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said: “We express grave concern over Turkey’s announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus”.

Statement by High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini on Turkey's intended drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus - EUROPEAN UNION

Bruxelles, 04/05/2019 - 12:34, UNIQUE ID: 190504_2

Press releases

We express grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus. In March 2018, the European Council strongly condemned Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean. In this context, we urgently call on Turkey to show restraint, respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus in its exclusive economic zone and refrain from any such illegal action to which the European Union will respond appropriately and in full solidarity with Cyprus.

New technologies for Eastern Mediterranean offshore gas exploration - EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT




Cyprus expects first gas output from Aphrodite field by 2025 - CYPRUS MAIL

MAY 4, 2019
Devika Krishna Kumar

Cyprus expects initial natural gas production from the Aphrodite field will begin between 2024 and 2025, Cyprus’ Minister of Energy Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said on Friday, after negotiations with operators and an ownership squabble delayed output.

Cyprus’ Aphrodite was first discovered in 2011, but production has been delayed since as stakeholders Noble Energy, Israel’s Delek Drilling and Royal Dutch Shell renegotiate a production-sharing agreement with the government.

There has been a flurry of successful exploration efforts in recent years that identified natural gas plays in the eastern Mediterranean, where gas output has begun to soar.

Eastern Mediterranean countries including Cyprus, Israel, Egypt and Italy have formed a partnership to deliver more natural gas to Europe and transform the region into a major energy hub.

Lakkotrypis said he will meet with Aphrodite’s stakeholders next week to discuss the revenue sharing mechanisms between the government and the companies, infrastructure plans and the price at which companies will sell the gas.

Friday, May 3, 2019

US strongly discourages any activity that could escalate tensions - CYPRUS MAIL

US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis Fannon
with Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis
MAY 3, 2019 

Assistant Secretary for the bureau of energy resources in the US Department of State Francis Fannon has said that the US was strongly discouraging any activity that could escalate tensions in the region.

He was commenting on the Turkish threats over its planned drilling activity within Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Energy diplomacy and the new geopolitical landscape in the Eastern Mediterranean, coupled with the transformation of the region into an energy hub, were the topics of the last panel of the EastMed-New York Investment Summit organised by The Economist.

Answering questions, Fannon reiterated the long-standing US position that the US recognises Cyprus`s right to develop its resources within its EEZ and that resources should be distributed fairly within the framework of an overall solution to the Cyprus problem. He added that the US was considering energy as a catalyst for dialogue.

Noble Energy posts $313M loss as it gears up for big growth - MySA / HEARST NEWSPAPERS

Friday, May 3, 2019
Jordan Blum

Houston's Noble Energy reported a $313 million quarterly loss Friday as it gears up for big growth from West Texas to the Eastern Mediterranean.

Noble's loss compares to a $554 million profit a year ago. Noble's first-quarter revenues also fell from $1.29 billion in 2018 down to $1.05 billion at the start of 2019.

However, Noble said it is growing production and keeping costs down as it develops its large acreage holdings in West Texas' booming Permian Basin that it has acquired within the last four years.

Also, Noble plans to bring its massive Leviathan natural gas project offshore of Israel online by the end of this year. Noble said Friday that the project is 81 percent complete.

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Greece and Cyprus: Grand Challenges and Great Opportunities in East Mediterranean Gas - MODERN DIPLOMACY

May 1, 2019
Antonia Dimou

Greece is a country with many unexplored promising oil and gas fields.In fiscal terms, investments in hydrocarbon development and production throughout the country are highly competitive and attractive. From a hydrocarbon exploration perspective, offshore Crete in Southern Greece presents a frontier area that faces two major challenges namely a combination of very complex geological history and ultra-deep waters exceeding three thousand meters in most areas.

Following the “Call for Tenders for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons Offshore West Crete and Southwest Crete” in March 2018, the consortium of French Total, American ExxonMobil and Hellenic Petroleum (Helpe) was granted by Ministerial Decision in July 2018 rights of hydrocarbon exploration and production for two offshore blocks in West and Southwest Crete. The exploration stage is expected to last up to eight years, and in the event of a commercial discovery, the production lease agreement is set tobe valid for 25 years plus two five-year extensions. Currently, the concessions awarded to the consortium are expected to pass in the Greek Court of Audit. This will prompt a swift parliamentary ratification permitting the initiation of exploration activities.

Additionally, the Hellenic Hydrocarbon Resources Management Authority intends to declare a new licensing tender for other offshore blocks in south Crete. To this end, the Authority published in February 2019 a tender for the Environmental Study that is prerequisite for companies to commence exploration once they are awarded certain concessions.

Monday, April 29, 2019

Cyprus ponders gas monetisation options - PETROLEUM ECONOMIST

Nicosia, 29 April 2019
Gerald Butt

New natural gas discoveries offshore Cyprus have revived the possibility of the island hosting an LNG plant

Cyprus is finally in a position where it can realistically start exploring a number of ways of getting natural gas to market. Seven years after the first discovery in Cyprus' offshore economic exclusion zone (EEZ) — the Aphrodite field in Block 12 (4.5tn ft3 of gas in place) — the island has notched up two more finds.

Last year, an Eni-Total consortium struck gas at Calypso in Block 6 (estimated 3-5tn ft3). The most recent newcomer is Glaucus-1 (5-8tn ft3) in Block 10, discovered by ExxonMobil, partnered by Qatar Petroleum.

Energy minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis, addressing Gulf Energy's Eastern Mediterranean Gas Conference in Nicosia in early March, said the "quality of the reservoir in Block 10 allows us to be optimistic about the very high recoverability potential" of the ExxonMobil discovery. Last year, the first well drilled on Block 10 failed to find commercial reserves. With the Glaucos success, "we are waiting for the remodelling or re-calibrating of geological data and will look again at Block 10 targets".