Egypt's gas transmission strategy - PETROLEUM ECONOMIST

10 January 2018

Gerald Butt

With natural gas from the super-giant Zohr field now flowing ashore, plans are in place to make distribution of the fuel more efficient and to expand wind power

For the Egyptian government, 20 December 2017 was a red-letter day. It was when Eni produced first gas from the Zohr field 190km (118 miles) from the coast. Zohr is by far the biggest natural gas discovery in the Eastern Mediterranean, with estimated reserves of 30 trillion cubic feet. The arrival of Zohr gas ashore—at an initial rate of 350m cubic feet a day, rising to 1.2bn cf/d under Phase 1—is a major factor in the Egyptian government's decision to phase out liquefied natural gas imports during the course of this year and prepare for the restart of exports.

But the priority for the Egyptian authorities is to make sure that domestic demand for gas is satisfied—in particular for power generation. Nothing is more calculated to stoke social unrest than lengthy power cuts in Cairo and other overcrowded cities during the stiflingly hot summer months.

Reasons why companies choose Cyprus - CYPRUS MAIL

A section of the VTTI fuel terminal at Vasiliko

SEPTEMBER 6TH, 2017

Michael Theodoulou

The number and range of companies choosing to locate their regional or global headquarters in Cyprus have risen steadily in recent years. The trend is set to continue because of growing demands from global regulators that companies have a physical presence and substance in the country where they are registered – and both are easily established in Cyprus.

It came as no surprise that Cyprus’ location played a leading part in their decision. In one direction, the island is the eastern gateway into the EU’s market of 500 million people. In the other, it provides an ideal springboard into the evolving markets of the Middle East and Asia and enjoys excellent relations with the oil and gas-rich Gulf states.

Cyprus’ location also means that it enjoys business-friendly time zones. Companies can do business with the East in the morning, Europe throughout the day and with the West in the afternoon.