Romania on its way to become EU’s largest gas producer - EURACTIV

Jan 10, 2025 07:23

Georgi Gotev

The agreement between Austria's OMV and Germany's Uniper to supply gas from the latter's Black Sea project in Romania's economic zone has put the spotlight on the country's significant gas supply potential.

The five-year deal for 15 terawatt-hours of natural gas from the Neptun Deep project off Romania's Black Sea coast, in water depths of between 100 and 1,700 metres, comes after Russia last month halted gas supplies via Ukraine and a wider reduction in European Union energy purchases from Moscow due to its invasion of Ukraine.

As reported by Reuters, the total contract volume represents about 1.5% of Germany's gas imports in 2024 and would be the first deal to underpin the long-awaited deepwater project, more than a decade after gas was first discovered in Romania's section of the Black Sea.

Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnector operational from 1 July - EURACTIV

May 27, 2022
Krassen Nikolov

The launch of the gas interconnector became possible after the Bulgarian and Greek energy regulators took a joint decision to licence the gas connection operator – ICGB. The decision was fast-tracked due to the war in Ukraine, which has led to the suspension of Gazprom’s gas supplies to Bulgaria. Authorities in Sofia have rejected Russian demands to change contracts and pay for natural gas in roubles.

The gas connection between Bulgaria and Greece will start operating on 1 July, with Bulgaria poised to receive one billion cubic metres of gas from Azerbaijan – enough to meet the country’s needs during summer, with prices expected to be lower than Russian gas.

The launch of the gas interconnector became possible after the Bulgarian and Greek energy regulators took a joint decision to licence the gas connection operator – ICGB. The decision was fast-tracked due to the war in Ukraine, which has led to the suspension of Gazprom’s gas supplies to Bulgaria. Authorities in Sofia have rejected Russian demands to change contracts and pay for natural gas in roubles.

Eni pledges more gas for Europe to help cut reliance on Russia - REUTERS

March 18, 2022, 7:32 PM GMT+2

Stephen Jewkes

• Extra gas could come from Algeria, Egypt and beyond
• Eni steps up targets on path to carbon neutrality
• Returns raised but still disappoint, says broker

MILAN, March 18 (Reuters) - Italian energy group Eni said on Friday it could provide extra gas to Europe to help reduce reliance on Russian supplies after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Eni made the pledge as it set out its strategy to 2025, promising investors better returns and vowing to pick up the pace on its climate ambition to be carbon neutral by 2050.

"We are leveraging our global upstream business and partnerships with producing countries to find alternative supply opportunities for Europe," Chief Executive Claudio Descalzi told a conference call.

The European Union, which relies on Russia for 40% of its gas and 27% of its oil, has proposed plans to replace nearly two-thirds of Russian gas imports this year and aims to phase out dependence on all Russian fossil fuels by 2027.

The US should link eastern Mediterranean gas to Europe to subvert Russia - THE HILL

MARCH/15/22 12:00 PM EDT

Nicholas Saidel, Godfrey Garner 

The Biden administration should pause its hyper-focus on renewable energy and support efforts to prevent Russian energy blackmail against our European allies. The European Union (EU) has declared it will cut reliance on Russian gas by two-thirds. If the U.S. is serious about energy security in Europe, it must help ensure that eastern Mediterranean natural gas makes it to Europe’s shores.

In late January, President Biden took the opposite route, surprising Greece, Israel and Cyprus — the regional entities in the U.S.-sponsored “3+1” cooperation framework — by withdrawing support for the EastMed Pipeline, an unfunded, multibillion-dollar concept conceived in 2016 that would have brought eastern Mediterranean gas to Europe via an underground pipeline. Biden cited climate change and economic viability concerns, both arguably reasonable positions at the time. However, considering Russia’s war in Ukraine and its downstream effects, Biden must show flexibility and adapt his natural gas policy.

Gas from the eastern Mediterranean could diversify Europe’s energy portfolio. Israel alone has approximately 2.2 trillion cubic meters of gas awaiting discovery. While it wouldn’t satisfy all of Europe’s needs, it would help to offset Russian gas imports. NATO countries such as Germany, Italy and Turkey could benefit from new suppliers, especially since German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has halted the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project that would have increased the country’s reliance on Russian gas. Like Germany, Italy is seeking alternative sources.

Chevron CEO says Israel gas pipeline could supply Europe amid crisis - THE JERUSALEM POST

MARCH 8, 2022 13:00
BEN ZION GAD, REUTERS 

Europe's natural gas shortage, which has pushed prices to multi-year highs, has revived talk of the EastMed pipeline – a Mediterranean Sea pipeline that could carry gas from Israel to European customers, Chevron Chief Executive Michael Wirth said on Monday at the CERAWeek energy conference.

Wirth downplayed concerns over global oil supplies amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the subsequent potential for an energy crisis.

The EastMed pipeline, meant to transfer natural gas from Israeli waters to Europe via Greece and Cyprus, was announced in 2016, and several agreements have been signed between the three countries on the subject. They aim to complete the €6 billion ($6.54 b.) project by 2025, but no financing has been secured for it as of yet.

Gazprom signs contract with Mytilineos to supply gas to Greece until 2030 - TASS

1 JUN 2020, 18:39

MOSCOW /TASS/ Gazprom Export, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom, and Greece’s Mytilineos S.A. concluded a long-term contract for the supply of natural gas, the Russian company said. The contract provides for the delivery of gas to Greece from 2020 to 2030.

The document was signed by Vice Chair of the Gazprom Management Committee, Director General of Gazprom Export, Elena Burmistrova and Chairman of the Board, General Director of Mytilineos S.A., Evangelos Mytilineos.

"The cooperation between Gazprom Export and Mytilineos proves the demand for Russian gas on the Greek market and will further strengthen the interaction of our countries in the energy sector," Burmistrova said.

"This long-term contract will strengthen Mytilineos’s competitiveness in the region’s gas market and make a significant contribution to maximizing the efficiency of our assets in industry and the electric power industry," Mitilineos added.

Is Egypt’s Energy Hub Dream Falling Apart? - OIL PRICE MAGAZINE

Feb 01, 2020, 12:00 PM CST

Cyril Widdershoven

Since the end of the 1990s Egypt has dreamt of becoming an East Mediterranean gas and energy hub.

The discoveries offshore in the Nile Delta at the end of the 20st Century, that kickstarted the LNG boom sparked hope, but regional and internal conflicts which led to the removal of president Husni Mubarak and the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood have significantly slowed down the country’s energy industry.

However, new discoveries made in the last couple of years, combined with strong results offshore Cyprus, Israel and possibly even the coming years in Lebanon have brought new hope. The so-called East Med Gas Forum, in which most littoral states are participating is seen as one of the main drivers of new energy developments. Led by Egypt-Israel and the Greece-Cyprus quartet, a new start was made to reshape the region’s energy market, with as crown jewel, Egypt’s LNG liquefaction capacity in Idku and Damietta. The combined reserves of the participants, especially Egypt’s elephant-sized fields Zohr and Noor, combined with Israel’s offshore wealth, could supply the European market. The EU and even the U.S. promote the so-called East Med Offshore Gas Pipeline project connecting the East Mediterranean with the Balkans and possibly Italy. The region is optimistic and strategies are being implemented at a remarkable speed. Even with Turkish military and political obstruction constraining or even threatening some of the projects, progress is made.

Taps and alliances in an era of hard pipeline diplomacy - KATHIMERINI

18.JAN.2020 : 14:02
Stavros Tzimas

Amid growing turmoil over energy issues in the Eastern Mediterranean, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated the TurkStream pipeline in Istanbul earlier this month.

The operation of TurkStream, which will carry Russian natural gas to Central Europe through Turkey, will go some way toward fulfilling Moscow’s goal of reducing gas transit via Ukraine. With the pipeline starting in Novorossiysk, crossing the Black Sea and ending at Kiyikoy in northwestern Turkey, Russia achieves its aim of bypassing Ukraine – with which relations have long been troubled – while Turkey gets to reinforce its role as the controller of the pipeline taps that bring gas to the West.

The pipeline is seen supplying the Turkish market and branching out through Bulgaria and Serbia to send gas to Central Europe. That is why the leaders of the two Balkan countries, Boyko Borisov and Aleksandar Vucic respectively, were present at the event in Istanbul.

Russia begins TurkStream gas flows to Greece - REUTERS

JANUARY 5, 2020 / 1:48 PM

SOFIA (Reuters) - Russia has started European gas deliveries through the new TurkStream pipeline to Turkey, Bulgaria’s Bulgartransgaz said on Sunday, as Moscow looks to reduce shipments via Ukraine.

Russia is building TurkStream and doubling the capacity of NordStream across the Baltic Sea to Germany as part of plans to bypass Ukraine in its gas deliveries to Europe.

“Russian gas deliveries not only for us but also for Greece and North Macedonia are being carried through the new entry point (at our Turkish border),” Bulgartransgaz CEO Vladimir Malinov told Bulgarian national radio BNR.

Russian gas producer Gazprom started shipping about 3 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas to Bulgaria via TurkStream on January 1, replacing a route that formerly passed through Ukraine and Romania.

Botas LNG purchase tender seeks US, Russian supply - OIL & GAS EURASIA

01.NOV.2019

Turkey’s Botas issued a tender to purchase 70 cargoes of LNG (liquefied natural gas) for delivery over 2020-2023, two days after the US lifted sanctions.

The US imposed sanctions earlier in October in response to Turkey’s military offensive in northern Syria. The LNG tender will close on Nov. 8.

Heavily dependent on pipeline gas imports from Russia, Turkey is aiming to reduce Russian imports and diversify its gas sources. It has already reduced flows from Russia’s Gazprom significantly this year, while increasing LNG purchases and gas imports from Azerbaijan.

Botas buys LNG on a long-term basis from Nigeria and Algeria. The contract with Nigeria expires in 2021, while a deal with Algeria’s Sonatrach runs until late 2024. There is also a mid-term contract with Qatargas expiring next year.

The degree to which Turkey will increase its LNG imports depends however on price. The Turkish news site yenisafak.com quoted Danila Bochkarev, a senior fellow at the EastWest Institute, as saying: “LNG should be cheaper than pipeline gas in order to gain an additional share of the Turkish market.”

Superpowers Are Vying For Power In This New Oil & Gas Frontier - OIL PRICE

Aug 29, 2019, 3:00 PM CDT

Vanand Meliksetian

The Eastern Mediterranean has become a hotbed for tensions between regional and great powers due to the discovery of major energy deposits. The littoral states could potentially earn billions in gas exports while at the same time ensuring a level of energy security, which is rare to the region. However, the on-going activities create a level of complexity, which is an opportunity for countries such as the U.S. and Russia to exert influence.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned of "revisionist powers like Iran, Russia, and China trying to take major footholds in the East and West." The U.S. wishes to create an alliance of countries connected through multilateral interdependence. The backbone of the coalition is to be formed by Greece, Cyprus, and Israel.

The most critical driver for Washington’s assertiveness is Russia’s resurgence as a major force which can project power in the wider region. Moscow's relatively successful policy in the Middle East and its presence in the Eastern Mediterranean through its military intervention in Syria are making the U.S. wary of Russian influence.

Turkey’s “Fatih” drillship left without support after international companies withdraw - IN CYPRUS

July 23, 2019 at 11:34am
JONATHAN SHKURKO

Turkey’s drillship “Fatih”, currently located west of Paphos, was left without the specialised technical support necessary to conduct its operations, following the complete withdrawal of the last two international companies that had remained partly in support of its illegal activities.

According to Philelefteros sources, the last two specialized companies left on Friday, whereas other international companies decided to withdraw their support as soon as “Faith” started its illegal drilling operations.

The two companies had already recalled the majority of their staff from the operation, especially those who held European citizenship.

Revythousa to help Bulgaria in LNG supply - KATHIMERINI

21.06.2019 : 20:30

Chryssa Liaggou

Less than a year after it was upgraded with a third tank, the gas terminal on the island of Revythousa is confirming its strategic role as a feeder of the broader Balkan market, as on August 31 it will receive the first liquefied natural gas load destined for Bulgaria that is procured directly by a Bulgarian company.

Energico, owned by a former official of gas grid operator Bulgartransgaz, will be the first Bulgarian company to make a direct LNG procurement through Revythousa to cover Bulgaria’s needs, as the islet off the Attica coast is the only facility that allows for the diversification of natural gas sources in Greece’s northern neighbor, which is almost 100 percent dependent on Russian gas.

That option will become even easier when the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria pipeline starts operating, along with the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), in 2020.

Russia Could Mediate Determination Of Lebanese, Syrian Maritime Borders -Lebanese Minister - URDU POINT / SPUTNIK NEWS

Sat 15th June 2019 | 02:16 PM

BEIRUT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th June, 2019) Lebanon is aware of Syria's desire to determine maritime borders and Russia can mediate in this process, Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab told Sputnik.

"We have the information that Syria wants to determine the maritime borders with Lebanon. Russia is located in this region and specifically on these borders. And it has its own economic interests in this," Bou Saab said.

The defense minister recalled that Russia's Novatek company had won a contract along with other energy companies to develop and extract oil and gas in the territorial waters of Lebanon, adding that this company had also a share in the blocks located in the territorial waters of Syria.

"Given these facts, this company has an interest in delimitation of maritime borders, and thus Russia can play a positive role in this process," Bou Saab added.

Bulgaria in first U.S. gas deals buys two LNG cargoes - REUTERS

MAY 31, 2019 / 12:52 PMReporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova; editing by Jason Neely

SOFIA, May 31 (Reuters) - Bulgaria has agreed to buy U.S. natural gas for the first time, signing a deal for a delivery in the second quarter and another in the third, the country’s energy minister said on Friday.

Dutch-registered trader Kolmar NL will deliver a 90 million cubic metre (mcm) cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a second of 50 mcm.

“The ship carrying LNG from the United States has arrived at the Greek Revithoussa LNG terminal,” Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said. “This is yet another step towards liberalisation of the gas market and a clear sign of diversification.”

The first LNG shipment is from U.S. producer Cheniere and the second one from the U.S. unit of British Petroleum, she said.

Sofia at present buys almost all of its gas from Russia via one route.

It pledged to diversify after a 2009 dispute with Moscow disrupted winter supplies.

It is set to begin receiving mainly Azeri gas via a 182 km interconnector link with Greece expected to be ready by the end of 2020 with an initial annual capacity of three billion cubic metres. 

Pompeo and circumstance won't make EastMed pipeline a reality - THE JERUSALEM POST

MARCH 25, 2019 00:04 
GABRIEL MITCHELL 

The reduced presence of the US Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean coincided with increased maritime tensions across the region.

With the Purim holiday last week, many took a break from the country’s exhausting election cycle. But for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Wednesday evening was an opportunity to reinforce his position as Israel’s leading statesman. 

Hosting the sixth trilateral summit between Israel, Greece, and Cyprus, Netanyahu hoped special guest US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would deliver a strong showing of support for the embattled premier and his regional energy aspirations.
Significant regional developments have transpired since the last summit. In January 2019, Cypriot, Egyptian, Greek, Israeli, Italian, Jordanian and Palestinian energy ministers met in Cairo with the intention of establishing the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, an institution for regional energy cooperation. Coincidentally, the forum’s optimism was rewarded in recent weeks as major discoveries were made off the coasts of Cyprus and Egypt.

Exxon Mobil is reportedly considering future exploration in Israel’s waters.

Things Are About to Change: Oil and Gas Have Been Found in the Eastern Mediterranean - THE NATIONAL INTEREST

March 10, 2019

Tony Chavez

Large quantities of oil and natural gas have been discovered in the East Med and the race to extract them has begun. These hydrocarbon finds hold the potential to build regional stability and to bolster the economies of important US allies and partners, all of which is in the interest of the United States. But these discoveries could just as easily stoke further instability and conflict if nations default to historic resentments and if regional powers jockey to monopolize on or block access to this strategic treasure.

Extending from Israel and Egypt in the East and South to Turkey, Greece and Italy in the North and West, the Eastern Mediterranean has long been an economically dynamic and politically important region for the United States and its NATO allies. It is about to become even more important.

Large quantities of oil and natural gas have been discovered in the East Med and the race to extract them has begun. These hydrocarbon finds hold the potential to build regional stability and to bolster the economies of important U.S. allies and partners, all of which is in the interest of the United States. But these discoveries could just as easily stoke further instability and conflict if nations default to historic resentments and if regional powers jockey to monopolize on or block access to this strategic treasure.

Serbia ready to begin construction of its TurkStream section — Srbijagas - TASS

February 08, 6:27 UTC+3

BELGRADE, February 8. /TASS/. The Serbian side is ready to begin the construction of its section of the TurkStream gas pipeine to run from the Bulgarian to the Hungarian border, national gas company Srbijagas has said.

"Serbia is ready for the construction of this project, the first 300 million euro have already been secured, the construction is to begin in late March or early April. The construction is to be completed by December 15," Srbijagas Director General Dusan Bajatovic said at a session of the parliamentary Committee on the Economy, Regional Development, Trade, Tourism and Energy on Thursday.

The official added that "there should be no obstacles" on behalf of the Energy Community, an international organization established between the European Union and a number of third countries to extend the EU internal energy market to Southeast Europe and beyond.

Earlier, the Energy Community’s secretariat has expressed its opinion on the project, which Serbia deemed favorable. This opinion should serve as a basis for a permission from Serbia’s energy authority. After that, the construction can begin.

Cyprus: US to lift Cyprus arms embargo in security boost - THE REPUBLIC / AP

JAN/18/19 3:26 PM
Menelaos Hadjicostis

NICOSIA, Cyprus — The U.S. will soon start lifting a decades-old arms embargo on Cyprus because Washington acknowledges the Mediterranean island nation’s contribution to bolstering regional stability and security, the Cypriot foreign minister said Friday.

Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said that Washington sees the “added value” of allowing Cyprus to acquire military equipment that would help enhance its capabilities to boost regional security.

The embargo was imposed in 1987 with the aim of preventing an arms buildup that would hamper diplomatic efforts to reunify divided Cyprus. The island was split along ethnic lines in 1974 when Turkey invaded in the wake of a coup aimed at union with Greece.

Christodoulides said the process to lift the embargo has been set in motion in the U.S. Congress, reflecting a “positive shift” in that Washington no longer views Cyprus solely as an unsettled conflict of ethnic division.

“This is proof, if you like, of the recognition by the U.S. administration of the positive role that Cyprus plays as a pillar of stability and security in the broader region,” Christodoulides told The Associated Press.

The EastMed Pipeline Project in Perspective - GLOBAL RISK INSIGHTS

January 6, 2019
Ezra Friedman

The EastMed gas pipeline between Cyprus, Greece and Israel will revolutionise the economies and geo-politics of the region. The project comes from an emerging alliance between the three countries who must move forward cautiously in the face of neighbouring States’ opposition.

Eastern Mediterranean: the Bigger Picture

On December 20th, the Prime Ministers of Cyprus, Greece and Israel converged on the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. All three parties publicly committed to signing a high-level agreement in the near future. Such an agreement would solidify one of the longest and deepest underwater gas pipeline in the world.

It is expected to deliver approximately 10 billion cubic meters (BCM) of natural gas to the European Union (EU) through Greece and Italy. The EU is keen to support the project and diversify its natural gas imports away from the heavily sanctioned Russian Federation and declining North Sea gas production. The EastMed project would fulfil roughly 10-15% the EU’s projected natural gas needs. The United States is also supporting the project as it sees the growing trilateral alliance as a bulwark of democracy and stability in a largely authoritarian and war-torn region.