Libya’s El-Sharara oilfield shut down: NOC - MIDDLE EAST MONITOR

July 20, 2019 at 8:19 pm

Libya’s El-Sharara oilfield has been shut down, the country’s state oil firm confirmed on Saturday, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said it has launched an investigation into suspected valve closure in the Hamada area in western Libya.

It, however, said production from the nearby El Feel oilfield had not been affected by the incident.

El-Sharara oilfield produces more than 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day, forming roughly one-third of the oil-rich country’s production.

Libya holds Africa’s largest crude reserves, but eight years of conflict and violence in the country since the 2011 ouster of ruler Muammar Gaddafi have hobbled production and exports.

Lukewarm interest to Israel's offshore tender highlights East Med uncertainty - PLATTS

18 Jul 2019 | 15:47 UTC
Miriam Malek, Editor: Debiprasad Nayak

London — Lower-than-expected interest for Israel's second offshore licensing round has highlighted some uncertainty in monetizing gas resources from this hotspot region.

Israel's ministry of energy announced Tuesday that it had received just two bids from international consortia, despite reports that majors including the US's ExxonMobil had bought tender documents.

The eastern Mediterranean has become renowned as a gas hotspot, particularly in recent years, with several high-profile finds, including the Leviathan and Tamar fields in Israel, which have contingent reserves of 605 billion cubic meters and 318 billion cubic meters respectively.

"It is telling that no majors threw their hats into this bid round given the plethora of interest in Egyptian and Cypriot acreage," Samer Mosis, Platts Analytics said. "It underlines the uncertainty that Israeli domestic gas regulation and infrastructure inject into monetizing gas offshore Israel." First gas from Leviathan is expected in the first quarter of 2020. Development partners Noble and Delek have been working to monetize the reserves for over 10 years, but there remain serious questions about how to get the gas to the market.

Firms including MOL, Osaka, Gaslog, chosen in Cyprus FSRU LNG tender - REUTERS

LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) 12:44 PM

Three joint ventures have been selected by Cyprus in the first stage of a tender to provide a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) to import liquefied natural gas (LNG)
The first joint venture is led by China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering, Natural Gas Public Company of Cyprus (DEFA) said on its website.
The second comprises Samsung C&T, Posco E&C, LNG ship-builder Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Japanese utility Osaka Gas
The third consortium includes LNG shipping company Gaslog , a unit of Spanish utility Enagas and Italian gas infrastructure company SNAM .

Cyprus aims to have the FSRU vessel in place and importing by 2021 and has a 101 million euro ($113 million) grant from the European Union.

It requested expressions of interest last month to supply the LNG, with a deadline of Sept. 6. ($1 = 0.8919 euros) 

Egypt achieves 1.56 bcf/d natural gas surplus - ENTERPRISE

Wednesday, 17 July 2019

Egypt has achieved an average natural gas surplus of 1.56 bn cf/d, an Oil Ministry source told the local press. 

Production at the Zohr natural gas field is expected to rise to 2.95 bcf/d by next July, up from 2.3 bcf/d currently. 

The country’s average gas consumption is expected to reach 6.39 bcf/d through FY2019-2020 out of a total production capacity of 7.95 bcf/d. 

Surplus gas is being exported through liquefaction plants in Idku and Damietta.

US to participate in East Med energy summit - KATHIMERINI

WEDNESDAY JULY 17, 2019 - 14:56

ANDREAS PARASCHOS

The United States will join Cyprus, Greece, Israel and Egypt at a summit on July 29 to discuss East Med energy cooperation.

At an Economist conference in Greece it was announced that United States Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis Fannon will participate in the East Med energy summit in Athens, if diplomatic schedule allows, along with the energy ministers from Cyprus Yiorgos Lakkotrypis, Greece's Costis Hatzidakis and Israel's Yuval Steinitz.

The Greek energy minister underlined the importance placed by the new government on the Eastern Mediterranean energy issues. The first step of discussions will take place on the weekend of July 24-25 at the East Med Gas Forum to be held in Cairo. This forum will include delegates from Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, Italy and the Palestinian authority.

Lakkotrypis said that it is important that “Ankara accepts to start the discussions on demarcation of maritime zones parallel to the process of resolving the Cyprus problem.”

White & Case acts as legal counsel for Energean in its acquisition of Edison’s Egypt assets - ENTERPRISE

Monday, 15 July 2019

US-based law firm White & Case has acted as buy-side legal counsel for Energean in its acquisition of Edison’s Egypt oil and gas assets, partner and co-head of the EMEA corporate practice Allan Taylor said. 

The USD 750 mn transaction, which saw the Greek energy company acquire the target’s entire oil and gas portfolio in countries other than Egypt, will set up one of the largest independent exploration & production (E&P) companies listed on the exchanges of both London and Tel Aviv, Taylor added.

Two bid in Israel's offshore energy licenses tender - GLOBES

15 Jul, 2019 15:50
Amiram Barkat

The Ministry of Energy received only two bids from consortia including from UK companies Cairn and Soco, even though energy majors like ExxonMobil purchased tender documents.

As part of the second round of competitive bids for Israel's offshore natural gas and oil licenses tenders, only two offers have been received from consortia comprising Israeli and international companies.

The two bids were from: a consortium of Israeli company Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP (TASE:RATI.L) and two British companies Cairn Energy plc (LSE: CNE) and Soco International plc . (LSE: SIA): and a consortium of Energean Oil & Gas plc (LSE: ENOG; TASE: ENOG) and Israel opportunity.

Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources Yuval Steinitz said, "The arrival of additional European companies to Israel as well as the soon to be connected up Leviathan rig and continued development of the Karish-Tanin fields will lead to the dismantling of the monopoly and strengthening competition in this sector. We are continuing to work to make Israel into a regional energy power."

Leviathan natural gas platform starts voyage to Israel - REUTERS

JULY 14, 2019 / 10:48 AM

JERUSALEM, July 14 (Reuters) - The gas platform for the Leviathan natural gas field is on its way to Israel from the Gulf of Mexico, the partners in the project said on Sunday.

The first of four barges transporting the production structure units has left Texas and the other three will set sail in the coming weeks. In September, all the units will be installed on the jacket of the platform already in place 10 kilometres from Israel’s shore.

After connecting the units to the platform, Noble Energy , one of Leviathan’s partners, will start a series of commissioning tests before initiating commercial gas flow to the domestic market before the end of 2019.

Earlier this month, testing of a subsea natural gas pipeline to Egypt was completed, in the wake of a deal to export $15 billion in gas to a customer in Egypt.

Leviathan, with 22 trillion cubic feet of reserves, was discovered in 2010 and is one of the world’s largest gas discoveries of the past decade.