Cyprus rejects development plan for Chevron-led gas field - OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY

August 28, 2023

Cyprus has rejected development plan submitted by a Chevron-led consortium for the Aphrodite gas field located in Block 12 of the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus, reported Bloomberg News citing the country’s Energy Minister Giorgos Papanastasiou.

The Aphrodite field, which was discovered in 2011, is located 160km south of Limassol and 30km northwest of the Leviathan field.

Without disclosing the reason for turning down the plan, Papanastasiou told the news agency that the project parties can now “enter into discussions to reach an agreement within a period of 30 days”, effective from 25 August 2023.

Chevron holds 35% stake in the field while other partners include Shell (35%) and Israel’s NewMed Energy (30%).

Chevron considers gas exploration offshore Cyprus, Egypt and Israel - OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY

April 19, 2023

US energy major Chevron is looking to explore for natural gas offshore Cyprus, Egypt and Israel to meet surging demand in the region and Europe, reported Reuters, citing two sources.

As part of this effort, the US company is seeking a drilling ship to support natural gas exploration work.

According to the sources, the company has issued a lease tender seeking a drilling vessel from potential companies in 2024, for a period of one year with an option to extend for several years.

A Chevron spokesperson said the company “remains committed to working together with the governments of Egypt, Israel and Cyprus and our partners in the region to support the growth of the east Mediterranean energy sector.

Eni secures five oil and gas exploration licences in Egypt - OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY

January 11, 2022

The licences are located in the Western Desert, the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, and the Gulf of Suez.

Italian oil and gas company Eni has received five new exploration licences from the Egyptian government, including four as operator.

The licences, located offshore and onshore, were awarded as part of the Egypt International Bid Round for Petroleum Exploration and Exploitation, launched in 2021 by the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

Covering a total acreage of approximately 8,410km², the licences include Block EGY-MED-E5 and Block EGY-MED-E6 in the Mediterranean Sea, Block EGY-GOS-13 in the Gulf of Suez, and Blocks Egy-WD- 7 and EGY-WD-9 in the Western Desert.

In a statement, Eni said: “The licences are placed within prolific basins with proved petroleum systems able to generate liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons, and can also rely on nearby existing producing and processing facilities and on a demanding market that will allow a quick valorisation of the potential exploration discoveries.”

The results are in line with the Italian firm’s strategy to continue to explore and produce gas in Egypt to sustain the domestic market.

Repsol and Hellenic Petroleum partner on offshore Greece exploration - OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY

10 APRIL 2019

Spanish energy company Repsol and Greece-based Hellenic Petroleum have signed lease agreements to conduct exploration in two offshore blocks in Greece.

The joint venture (JV) of the two companies will conduct oil and gas exploration in an offshore block in the Ionian Sea. Hellenic Petroleum will also carry out exploration in another block off the Peloponnese peninsula.

Reuters reported that the two blocks are situated in the western region of the country, an under-explored area with very little information on its hydrocarbon potentiality.

The agreement comes at a time when Greece is working to bolster its oil and gas sector with major discoveries in the eastern Mediterranean region.

Hellenic also has rights to explore oil and gas in other offshore and onshore areas of the country, with plans to conduct the first test drilling off the Peloponnese peninsula in 2020.

“A big round of lease agreements for the exploration and development of hydrocarbons is closing with these two agreements we are signing today.”

Cyprus vows to safeguard ExxonMobil offshore oil and gas search - OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY

23 JULY 2018
Talal Husseini

Cypriot Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis has announced that the government will do everything necessary to ensure ExxonMobil’s offshore oil and gas search runs smoothly, despite threats from Turkey.

The US oil giant, together with Qatar Petroleum, holds an exploration licence for Block 10 located in the south-west of Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Lakkotrypis added that the dispute with Turkey should not hinder the government’s energy programme.

He said: “The procedures for Exxon to obtain the necessary permits are proceeding as planned and two wells will be carried out in Q4. What’s important is that we progress according to our timeframe and planning.”

Asked whether the US Air Force will be deployed to monitor ExxonMobil’s drilling activity, as reported in Cyprus’s largest daily newspaper the Phileleftheros, he added: “We take all necessary measures so that the two drills will proceed without any unforeseen developments. That is why you see that we are diplomatically more active as the time for these drills gets closer.”

Cyprus’s potential export pipeline to Egypt and recent exploration success - OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY / GLOBALDATA ENERGY

25 JUNE 2018

Cyprus is likely to join Egypt and Israel as a key player in the Eastern Mediterranean area now that the pipeline from the Aphrodite field to Egypt has become a tangible reality. This turnout is expected to trigger further exploration activity by operators in the country and Cyprus can see a substantial investment in upstream natural gas developments in the near future.

Delek Energy, a key stakeholder, has also proposed a partnership in the export pipeline to potentially secure an additional export route for its Leviathan field in Israel placing even greater focus on Cyprus’ role in the gas sector.

EastMed pipeline provides viable route for stranded gas in Mediterranean - OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY / GLOBAL DATA ENERGY

Development NPV10 with Varying Gas Price / Source: Upstream Analytics © GlobalData

17 JANUARY 2018

The proposed Eastern Mediterranean Natural Gas (EastMed) pipeline spans 1,300 kilometers (km) (808 miles (mi)) offshore and 600 km (373 mi) onshore, starts in Israel and has exit points in Cyprus, Crete and Greece.

The pipeline, proposed by IGI Poseidon, a 50:50 joint venture by DEPA and Edison, has a planned capacity of 1.2 to 1.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd). Both companies benefit from additional gas volumes to distribute to end-users.

BP to bring Fayoum, Giza concessions on stream ahead of schedule - ENTERPRISE / YOUM7 / OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY

Thursday, 16 March 2017

BP is reportedly bringing the Fayoum and Giza natural gas fields (see North Alexandria Concession) into production ahead of schedule in November, Oil Ministry sources tell Youm7.

The fields were initially slated to come on stream in 1Q19. BP is expected to produce 400 mcf/d from the concessions.

West Nile Delta (WND) Project involves the development of gas and condensate fields located within the North Alexandria (N Alex) and West Mediterranean Deepwater concessions in the Mediterranean sea, approximately 65km to 85km off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt.

Cyprus approves BG Group as partner in offshore Aphrodite gas field | Offshore Technology

19 January 2016

The Cypriot Government has approved British Gas Group (BG) as a partner in the offshore Aphrodite (block 12) gas field.

Noble Energy has sold a 35% stake in the field to BG for $165m after an agreement was signed in November 2015.

The company will retain an additional 35% stake in the offshore field and serve as its operator.

Remaining partners in the field are Delek Group energy exploration and production units Avner Oil and Gas and Delek Drilling, which will each own 15%.