Foreign oil, gas investments in Egypt hit $10 bln in 2017-18 - minister - REUTERS

CAIRO, AUGUST 24, 2018 / 5:46 PM 

Reporting by Ali Abdelaty, writing by John Davison; Editing by Jan Harvey

Foreign investment in Egypt’s oil and gas sector rose to $10 billion in the 2017-2018 financial year, Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla said in an interview with state-run Al Ahram newspaper published on Friday.

That is up by nearly a quarter from 8.1 billion in the previous year. El Molla was quoted by the paper as saying he expected the same volume of investments in the current fiscal year. Egypt’s fiscal year runs from July to June.

Italian oil company Eni said last month that the production capacity of Egypt’s giant Mediterranean Zohr gas field stood at 1.6 billion cubic feet a day and would reach 2 billion by September.

Egypt plans to become a regional hub for the trade of liquefied natural gas after a string of major discoveries in the Mediterranean that are expected to make Egypt self-sufficient in gas by the end of 2018. 

EGPC signs USD 46 mn oil and gas exploration agreement with BP - ENTERPRISE

Tuesday, 31 July 2018

The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) signed a USD 46 mn agreement with BP yesterday for oil and gas exploration the in Gulf of Suez, according to a statement picked up by Ahram Gate. 

The agreement also includes a USD 4 mn to cover the cost of drilling three wells. The Oil Ministry said it is currently finalizing procedures for 13 other agreements that will be announced soon. 

The new agreement comes as the government steps up exploration activities in FY2018-19 as Egypt marches toward natural gas self-sufficiency and bids to become a regional energy export hub.

The Egypt-Israel gas deal: What's the chance it will go up in smoke? - MIDDLE EAST EYE

Tuesday 17 July 2018 15:47 UTCDania Akkad

The rush is on to complete a $15bn deal to export Israeli gas to Egypt. But with nearly enough gas to supply itself, does Egypt even need it?

TEL AVIV - There is selling ice to the eskimos. And sand to the Arabs. Now there's gas to Egypt.

The rush is on to finalise a deal which would see $15bn worth of Israeli gas supplied to a private Egyptian company during the next decade.

The agreement between Israeli company Delek Drilling and Texas-based Noble Energy, who are partners in Israel’s Tamar and Leviathan fields, and the private Egyptian company Dolphinus Holdings was first publicised in February.

Egypt issues final liquefied gas tender on road to self-sufficiency - THE ARAB WEEKLY

Sunday 01/JULY/2018Hassan Abdel Zaher

Egypt’s oil and gas sector is expected to receive $10 billion in investments in the next two years.

CAIRO - Egypt is close to reaching self-sufficiency in natural gas and resuming exports, which would end almost a decade of dependence on imports.

Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tarek el-Molla said Egypt’s latest liquefied natural gas tender for nine shipments of natural gas could be its last because local production would meet domestic demand and even allow for energy exports next year.

“I don’t think there will be more tenders beyond this. I think this is it,” Molla said. “Local production should cover our needs.”

Egypt would look to export natural gas to international markets almost a decade after halting exports due to increasing consumption, decreasing production and a lack of upgrade for Egypt’s natural gas fields. Natural gas finds, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean, have revamped Egypt’s energy plans.

Egypt preparing for a gas-rich future - CYPRUS MAIL

April 29, 2018
Charles Ellinas

Egypt is determined to drive and manage its rapidly expanding energy sector and ensure that the new liberalised industry and systems are run on international standards, Egypt’s Petroleum Minister Tareq El Molla has said.

Speaking at the International Gas Union (IGU) Workshop in Cairo on April 19, El Molla said his department would put Egypt at the forefront of natural gas developments.

Since the discovery of the first gas-field Abu Madi in 1967, Egypt’s gas reserves have increased dramatically, particularly during the last two to three years, with the development of giant Zohr being the game-changer.

Egypt’s oil and gas sector is being developed on the basis of three key pillars, with corresponding action areas:

• Energy security: boosting and diversifying energy supply
• Financial sustainability: by addressing historic debts and reforming energy subsidies
• Sector governance: improving oil and gas sector governance

Egypt welcomes natural gas from all countries: PM - EGYPT INDEPENDENT

February 24, 2018, 12:50 pm

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said on Friday that Egypt welcomes any quantities of natural gas from any country for processing in the country’s liquefaction plants.

During a press conference, Ismail said that the natural gas agreement involving Israeli and Egyptian companies is a deal between private sector companies, not governments, but it nevertheless highlights Egypt’s pivotal role in the energy sector and its new role in the region.

He pointed out that the Turkish “harassment” of gas explorers in the Mediterranean Sea has been going on for a long period, saying that, with new gas discoveries, he expects conflicts to impose additional strain in relations between various regional countries.

He added that Egypt is currently working to receive natural gas from Cyprus.

Egypt's potential gas surplus could feed global LNG glut - WORLD OIL

FEB/20/2018
SALMA EL WARDANY

CAIRO (Bloomberg) -- Egypt faces a possible over-abundance of natural gas after two Israeli companies proposed a $15 billion supply deal, raising the prospect that the Arab nation may turn its surplus into liquefied natural gas and export it to a market currently glutted with LNG.

Egypt was already expecting to become self-sufficient in natural gas by the end of this year with the start of Eni SpA’s giant Zohr field, Oil Minister Tarek El-Molla said last month. Noble Energy and Delek Drilling-LP said Monday they plan to supply around 64 Bcmg over 10 years to Egypt’s Dolphinus Holdings from Israel’s Tamar and Leviathan reservoirs, in a $15 billion export arrangement.

The most populous Arab country has facilities to turn gas into super-chilled LNG, which can be exported by ship. The global LNG oversupply is unlikely to end before the mid-2020s, the IEA forecast in October.

Egypt to import 3 LNG cargoes from France's Engie for Q2 2018 -sources - REUTERS

FEBRUARY 18, 2018 / 9:03 AM

Reporting by Ehab Farouk; Writing by Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Susan Fenton

CAIRO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) has arranged for the delivery of three liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes from France’s Engie in the second quarter of 2018, EGAS sources said on Sunday.

Trade sources told Reuters last month that Egypt was looking to import five cargoes of LNG at competitive pricing.

Two trade sources said the purchases were arranged through bilateral deals and not via a standard tender process.

Egypt plans to stop importing LNG by the end of the 2017/18 fiscal year ending in June as it speeds up production at recently discovered gas fields, the petroleum minister said in January. 

Egypt issues regulations allowing private sector gas imports - REUTERS

FEBRUARY 13, 2018 / 5:38 PM

Reporting by Momen Saeed Attallah. Writing by Eric Knecht. Editing by Jane Merriman

CAIRO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Egypt has issued long-awaited executive regulations that will allow the private sector to import natural gas directly, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office on Tuesday.

Egypt’s parliament last year passed a law establishing a gas regulatory authority that the government hopes will attract greater private sector participation in the country’s rapidly expanding gas sector.

The executive regulations issued on Tuesday make this law active.

Eni Says To Produce 2.9 Bcf Per Day From Zohr Field By Second Half 2019 - RIGZONE /REUTERS

Monday, February 12, 2018

Reporting By Eric Knecht and Nadine Awadallah; Writing By Maha El Dahan; Editing by Adrian Croft

CAIRO, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Production from Egypt's huge Zohr offshore gas field in the Mediterranean will reach 2.9 billion cubic feet per day by mid-2019, Italy's Eni said on Monday.

Speaking at an industry event in Cairo, CEO Claudio Descalzi said the goal was to reach output of 1.8 bcf to 2 bcf per day by the end of 2018 and then ramp up to 2.9 bcf per day by mid-2019.

Discovered in 2015 by Eni, the field contains an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Descalzi confirmed that by mid-2019, seven trains would be operating.

Egypt has been seeking to speed up production from recently discovered fields, with an eye to halting imports by 2019 and achieving self-sufficiency.

The country's petroleum minister said on Monday Egypt's current gas production stood at 5.5 billion cubic feet per day.

Egypt to accelerate Zohr gas field development, to be completed one year ahead of schedule - ENERGY EGYPT / AHRAM ONLINE / ENTERPRISE

February 4, 2018

Egypt to complete development on Zohr one year ahead of schedule: Egypt will complete the development of the Zohr gasfield at the beginning of 2019, instead of the end of the year, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla said on Thursday, according to Reuters. Egypt had been speeding up the development of the giant gasfield, with early phase production commencing ahead of schedule last December. Speedy development of the field had helped Egypt move forward its plans to cut imports of LNG from late 2018 to July.

Egypt's Zohr: Towards self-sufficiency in gas? - AHRAM ONLINE

Friday 5 Jan 2018
Amany Ismail

Egypt’s Zohr Field, the largest offshore natural gas field in the Mediterranean, started production on 16 December. It could prove to be a permanent remedy to Egypt’s power needs and bring it closer to the goal of self-sufficiency in the energy sector in 2018.

Nuclear next for Egypt - PETROLEUM ECONOMIST

6 September 2017Gerald Butt

The country's expanding energy mix is aimed at ensuring steady electricity supply, thus minimising the risk of social unrest

Egypt is going energy mad. The country is on course soon to be self-sufficient once more in natural gas, with the mega-giant Zohr offshore gasfield due onstream in December. It's also pressing ahead with a number of renewables ventures. Now, Egypt has committed itself as well to nuclear power.

Like several other Arab countries, Egypt has been toying with the idea of a nuclear project for years without a clear notion of when and if it might proceed. In November 2015, the idea began to take shape when Egypt and Russia signed an intergovernmental agreement to work together on a nuclear scheme. That was the signal for the start of negotiations between the two sides. Almost two years later the documents are all ready.

Egypt Moves to End State Monopoly of Natural Gas Market - BLOOMBERG

August 8, 2017, 11:03 AM GMT+3
Salma El Wardany, Mirette Magdy and Tamim Elyan

• New gas market regulator to be set up to govern sector
• Private sector can participate in transport, distribution

Egypt is opening the door to private participation in its natural gas sector, moving to end the state’s monopoly as it pushes ahead with reforms meant to encourage investment and revive the economy.

The new law signed by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi sets up a natural gas regulatory authority charged with licensing and devising a plan to open the gas market to competition. It also allows for the eventual import of natural gas by private companies -- a move that could help end supply shortages that have hampered businesses.
The most important market news of the day.

UPDATE 1-Egypt sets sights on doubling natural gas output by 2020 - REUTERS

JULY 17, 2017 / 12:22 PMReporting by Ehab Farouk; Writing by Amina Ismail; editing by Patrick Markey and Adrian Croft

CAIRO, July 17 (Reuters) - Three recently discovered major gas fields are expected to raise Egypt's natural gas output by 50 percent in 2018 and 100 percent in 2020, the petroleum ministry said.

"The fields of Zohr, North Alexandria and Nooros are among the most important projects that will increase natural gas production ... and will contribute to (Egypt’s) natural gas self-sufficiency by the end of 2018," Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla said in a statement, which set out the production forecasts.

Egypt's natural gas production rose to about 5.1 billion cubic feet per day in 2017 from 4.4 billion cubic feet in 2016 with the start of production from the first phase of BP's North Alexandria project.

Egypt will reach natural gas self-sufficiency by 2018 -EGAS - ENTERPRISE / REUTERS

Thursday, 16 February 2017

Egypt aims to reach natural gas self-sufficiency in 2018, EGAS Chairman Mohamed El Masry told Reuters’ Arabic Service. The private sector will be able to import natural gas for industries through new regulations by 2018 or possibly before then, he added. A large portion of the gap between supply and demand will be filled when the Zohr field begins production at the end of the year, he said. 

Prime Minister calls on Petroleum Ministry to swiftly complete oil, gas development projects - DAILY NEWS EGYPT

Wednesday January 18, 2017
Mohamed Ayyad
Gas self-sufficiency to be achieved by end of 2019, says prime minister

Prime Minister Sherif Ismail called on the Minister of Petroleum to quickly complete the development projects of discovered fields in order to increase the local production of crude oil and gas, and relieve the pressure on foreign exchange resources.

During his visit to the Petroleum Ministry on Wednesday, Ismail said that Egypt will achieve natural gas self-sufficiency by the end of 2019. The prime minister stressed the importance of intensifying exploration and research works during the upcoming phase.

Ismail also stressed the importance of delivering natural gas to homes as this would improve the services offered to citizens and provide the necessary amount of butane, 50% of which is imported.

Egypt's bill of importing natural gas hit $250m per month: El-Molla - AMWAL AL GHAD

Monday, 02 January 2017 16:43
Mahmoud Shaaban

Egypt's bill of importing natural gas is estimated at around US$250 million per month, Egyptian Oil Minister Tarek El-Molla stated Sunday.

He added that the Egyptian government would continue importing natural gas until reaching self-sufficiency within the coming two years.

Expanding in importing natural gas within the last few years came to cover all needs of the local market notably electricity and industry sectors, the minster clarified.

El-Molla noted that the continuous explorations in different concession areas play an important role in discovering more gas wells and fields, thus, raising state's production of natural gas.

Cash-Strapped Iraqi Kurds to Start Gas Exports to Turkey in 2016 | Bloomberg

Khalid Al Ansary Bruce Stanley, January 13, 2016

• Pipeline to start shipping natural gas to Turkey by year end
• Kurdish gas to give Turkey alternative to imports from Russia

Iraq’s Kurds will start building their first natural gas pipeline next month to export the fuel to Turkey, a project that would bring the self-governed region closer to economic independence.

The link will transport gas from the Khor Mor and Chamchamal fields in northern Iraq’s Kurdish enclave, first to Turkey and later to Europe, Bewar Al-Khinsi, an economic adviser to the Kurdistan Regional Government, said in a phone interview. The KRG will begin shipping 10 billion cubic meters a year by the end of 2016 and double the volume to 20 billion by 2020, he said.

“The pipeline will be a source of revenue for the KRG and a step to help Turkey overcome a gas crisis that may arise” as a result of Turkey’s soured relations with Russia, an important gas supplier to the Turks, he said.

The KRG is struggling to pay its bills, including money owed to foreign energy companies including DNO ASA and Genel Energy Plc. A 35 percent collapse last year in the price of Brent crude is adding to strain on KRG finances at a time when the regional government must also pay the cost of fighting against Islamic State militants that control parts of northern Iraq. The country’s Kurds have long chafed against control by Arab-led governments in Baghdad, and gas exports would enhance their financial self-sufficiency.

Kurdish Reserves

The Kurdish region could hold as much as 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, or about 3 percent of the world’s total deposits, according to the website of the KRG Ministry of Natural Resources. It also holds 45 billion barrels of crude oil reserves -- equivalent to almost a third of the deposits in the rest of Iraq, according to BP Plc data. Turkey offers the sole route to market the expanding Kurdish oil industry.

Turkey will help pay for the 831-kilometer network, which will run parallel to an existing oil pipeline, and Ankara-based Botas Boru Hatlari Ile Petrol Tasima AS will build it, Al-Khinsi said. The 181-kilometer section inside Kurdish territory will cost an estimated $750 million, he said. The project is the result of an agreement that the KRG and Turkey reached in 2013 to build two pipelines, one for oil and another for gas.

Dana Gas PJSC, a United Arab Emirates-based energy company operating in Kurdish Iraq, holds a 40 percent stake in both the Khor Mor and Chamchamal fields through its Pearl Petroleum Co. venture, according to Dana Gas’s website. All gas produced in the Kurdish region is currently sold locally, and the company wants eventually to sell fuel to Turkey and Europe, Dana Gas Chief Executive Officer Patrick Allman-Ward said Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.

SOURCE

After gas discovery, Egypt aims for energy self-sufficiency by 2022 | Albawaba Business

November 17, 2015

Egypt's two newly discovered oil fields, Zohr and North Alexandria, which will start production in 2017, will help make Egypt a regional center for energy and gas, Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tareq el Molla said.

Egypt hopes to achieve self-sufficiency in the period between 2020 and 2022 and to decline imports and become a regional energy center, Molla told MENA correspondent here prior to his departure.

The "Zohr" field will start production in the end of 2017 from 700 million to 1,000 million cubic feet daily to rise to 2,700 cubic feet daily in 2019, the minister said.

Egypt imports liquefied natural gas to fill its shortage over the past two years, he said, adding that factories that have stopped production due to gas shortage started operation, including fertilizer, steel and petrochemical plants.

Another field was discovered in northern Alexandria and will start production in mid 2017 with 450 million cubic feet daily to reach 1.2 billion cubic feet daily in 2019, he added.