Egypt: BP to Bring Raven Project Online by 2020 End - OFFSHORE ENGINEER

February 5, 2020

BP's phase three of the $12 billion West Nile Delta project offshore Egypt will come online by the end of this year, nearly 12 months behind the earlier scheduled deadline, the company said in a conference call this week.

The third phase includes the development of the Raven field, located in the offshore area encompassing five gas fields across the North Alexandria and West Mediterranean Deepwater offshore concession blocks which BP is developing in phases.

“The Raven project in Egypt is now expected to come on stream around the end of 2020,” said BP during the quarterly results call. To remind, BP had in February 2019 said it would bring Raven online by the end of 2019.

BP to Redirect Focus From Oil Assets in Egypt to Gas Reserves - YAHOO FINANCE / ZACKS EQUITY RESEARCH

June 5, 2019

BP plc BP recently announced its decision to divest Gulf of Suez oil concessions in Egypt to an upstream energy firm Dragon Oil. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed yet.

With the divestment, the British energy giant is planning to focus on gas reserves located off the coast of Egypt. The company has already produced first gas from the West Nile Delta development’s second stage. The project entails the production of natural gas from the Giza and Fayoum fields and the integrated energy firm expects peak production of 700 million cubic feet of gas per day.

BP commenced the first stage of the West Nile Delta project in 2017 and is expecting to start gas production from the final stage by the second half of 2019. Notably, in the first stage, BP developed the Taurus and Libra fields, while the final stage involves the development of the Raven field.

Overall, the West Nile Delta is a major upstream project and the company is expecting the full development — comprising the first, second and final stages — to produce roughly 20% of the current natural gas production volumes in Egypt. BP added that the national gas grid will utilize the entire gas being produced from the West Nile Delta.

BP Begins Gas Production From Phase 2 of West Nile Delta Project - SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS

13 February 2019

Gas is flowing in the second phase of the West Nile Delta development offshore Egypt, operator BP reported this week. Production, currently at around 400 MMcf/D, is expected to reach 700 MMcf/D at peak.

Developed as a long-distance deepwater tieback to an onshore plant, the second phase includes eight wells producing from the Giza and Fayoum fields. The West Nile Delta project as a whole consists of five gas fields across the North Alexandria and West Mediterranean Deepwater offshore concessions, 65–85 km off Alexandria.

Phase 1 of the project, launched last year, consists of gas production from the Taurus and Libra fields. The first two phases target gas in the Pliocene formations. A third phase developing the Raven field, which holds gas in the deeper Miocene formations, is also expected to come on stream this year.

Combined production from all phases of the West Nile Delta project is expected to approach 1.4 Bcf/D, equivalent to about 20% of Egypt’s current gas production. All of the gas produced will be fed into the country’s national gas grid, the operator said.

Production from Zohr gas field to reach 1.8B cfd in September - EGYPT TODAY

Sun, Apr. 1, 2018

CAIRO – 1 April 2018: Egypt plans to boost production from its giant offshore Zohr gas field to 700 million cubic feet a day (cfd) in May and to 1.8 billion cfd in September, an official source in the petroleum sector said Sunday.

He said that pre-operation tests have been initiated for the field’s first and second production lines and that mechanical and electrical installations for both lines are almost complete.

The second line will start operation in June, with a capacity of 350 million cfd, while the third and fourth lines will enter production in July and August respectively, bringing total production from the field to 1.4 billion cfd.

5 projects achieve natural gas self-sufficiency for Egypt in 2018 - DAILY NEWS EGYPT

January 29, 2018

The Ministry of Petroleum aims to increase its production of natural gas by working to make five gas projects operational, on top of which comes the completion of Zohr gas field’s first phase and beginning the second phase of the Northern Alexandria West Delta deep field.

The ministry plans to complete the first phase of Zohr development project in the deep waters of the Mediterranean in June, and for production to gradually reach over 1bn cubic feet of gas per day, up by some 700m cubic feet per day now, after announcing early production from the well.

The giant Zohr field is among the most important discoveries achieved by the petroleum sector in recent years. The find was made by the Italian company Eni in August 2015, with reserves of some 40tn cubic feet of gas. It is expected to help Egypt surpass its sharp gap in energy supplies. The first phase of the project costs about $5bn.

Germany’s DEA eyes boosting investment in Egypt - EGYPT TODAY

Wed, Jan. 10, 2018

CAIRO – 10 January 2018: Germany’s DEA Group planned to pump more investments in Gulf of Suez and Disouq regions in Egypt, CEO of the group Maria Moraeus Hanssen said Wednesday.

In a meeting with Minister of Petroleum Tarek El-Molla, Hanssen stated that Egypt is now an attractive investment destination especially after latest gas production from new fields, such as Zohr giant field and North Alexandria concession.

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.

Production from Shell’s Burullus gas fields rises to 526 mmcf/d in past year - ENERGY EGYPT

September 5, 2017

Production from Shell’s Burullus concession increased to 526 mmcf/d and over 6,000 bbl of condensates last year, Chairman of Shell JVs Rashpetco and Burullus Hisham Al Attar said, according to a statement from the Oil Ministry. Al Attar says that design and manufacturing works have been contracted on the West Delta Deep Marine Phase 9b project, but a contractor is yet to be picked. Rashpetco is set to drill two new exploration wells in 1Q2018, he adds, without specifying their location.

Chairman of Rashid Petroleum Company (Rashpetco) Hisham Al-Attar said that Burullus fields’ natural gas output rose to 526 million square feet per day and more than 6,000 barrels of condensates.

Egypt Rushes Maritime Negotiations, Making Way For Offshore Discoveries - HART ENERGY

Wednesday, August 2, 2017 - 1:36pm
Abdelghani Henni

Egypt is speeding up negotiations with neighboring countries to finalize the demarcation of borders in the Mediterranean, which holds huge natural gas reserves compared to the Red Sea.

The country has initiated talks with Greece to draw the maritime border, according to local sources. Egypt and Cyprus are also expected to sign the official border agreement in the next few weeks. In addition, the country plans to intensify seismic activities in the Red Sea following the agreement with Saudi Arabia.

In early June, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla said the Ganoub El Wadi Petroleum Holding Co. agreed with five international oil companies six months ago to conduct a $750 million seismic survey in the Red Sea to prepare reports on the reserves of oil and gas in the territorial waters after the demarcation of the border with Saudi Arabia.

Can Egypt’s Natural Gas Production Be Doubled By 2020? - HART ENERGY / STRATAS ADVISORS

Wednesday, July 26, 2017 - 12:18pm

This excerpt is from a report that is available to subscribers of Stratas Advisors’ Global Hydrocarbon Supply and Global Upstream Project Analytics services.

Egypt is the third largest natural gas producer in Africa and holds about 65 Tcf of proved natural gas reserves, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2017. But due to Egypt’s government paying low gas prices to foreign operators, it was getting more difficult to attract investments on developing new gas projects. Therefore, natural gas production had been under rapid decline from 5.9 Bcf/d in 2011 to 4.1 Bcf/d in 2016.

With significant natural gas reserves in the country, Egypt still needs to import natural gas from neighboring countries to satisfy domestic consumption, so Egypt’s government has agreed to pay a higher price to the foreign operators and encourage them to develop new natural gas discoveries, especially fields in the deepwater Mediterranean Sea and Nile Delta.

El Molla confirms acceleration of West Nile Delta Phase 2 - ENERGY EGYPT / ENTERPRISE / AL MASRY AL YOUM

June 14, 2017

The Petroleum Ministry is committed to start production from phase two of BP’s West Nile Delta (WND) concession ahead of the 2019 scheduled date, Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla said, according to Al Masry Al Youm.

BP wants to bring the development’s Fayoum and Giza fields on stream end of 2018, with a daily production of 400 mcf, Regional President for North Africa Hesham Mekawi said. Production at Raven field should begin in 2019 at 350 mcf/d, he added. BP’s Taurus and Libra fields in the WND’s phase one had come onstream last month, eight months ahead of schedule.

British oil investments to make Egypt new energy superpower, says UK envoy - AHRAM ONLINE

Thursday 11 May 2017

British Ambassador to Egypt John Casson said petroleum giant British Petroleum (BP) is investing $13 billion over five years to make Egypt the new energy superpower, through investments worth more than Cairo's three-year $12 billion loan deal with the IMF.

In a press release, the UK Embassy in Cairo said Casson attended the inauguration of BP's first two gas fields in the West Nile Delta Project, which was opened Wednesday by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and the company's chief executive Bob Dudley.

First gas from West Nile Delta contributes to DEA’s growth - DEA

Cairo, 10.05.2017

• Production from the West Nile Delta (WND) project commenced
• First gas ahead of schedule and production above plan

Production from the offshore WND gas fields commenced on 24 March 2017 from the first two fields, Taurus and Libra. Nine wells have now been commissioned and the fields are currently producing at a flow rate of more than 700 million cubic feet of gas per day.

“West Nile Delta is the largest new gas project that has been brought into production in Egypt in the last years. Its gas will contribute materially to the energy balance in the country. It is also one of the largest investment projects within DEA’s portfolio and we are pleased that the first gas milestone has been reached,” says Thomas Rappuhn, Chief Executive Officer of DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG.

“DEA was already involved in this project in its exploration phase and I would like to thank the team for the successful and professional implementation of the first part of the project,” Thomas Rappuhn adds.

“DEA is proud of being an active partner in this project. All members of the project team, within BP as the operator and DEA, have done an excellent job in order to achieve the production launch,” says Thomas Radwitz, General Manager of DEA Egypt.

BP announces start of production from West Nile Delta development achieving first gas eight months ahead of schedule and production 20 percent above plan - BP

10 May 2017

BP today announced that it has started gas production from the first two fields, Taurus and Libra, of the West Nile Delta development in Egypt. The project was delivered eight months ahead of start-up schedule and under budget. First gas was exported to Egypt’s national grid on 24 March 2017 and the commissioning of all nine wells of the development’s first two fields and ramp up to stable operations has now been completed.

The West Nile Delta development, which includes five gas fields across the North Alexandria and West Mediterranean Deepwater offshore concession blocks, is being developed as two separate projects to enable BP and its partners to accelerate gas production commitments to Egypt. When fully onstream in 2019, combined production from both projects is expected to reach up to almost 1.5 billion cubic feet a day (bcf/d), equivalent to about 30 per cent of Egypt’s current gas production. All the gas produced will be fed into the national gas grid.

Natural gas surplus by 2020: El Molla - DAILY NEWS EGYPT

2 May 2017
Mohamed Adel

Sector will sign five new deals with investments of $154m

The petroleum sector has achieved numerous developments during the current period in natural gas production. Egypt’s total production of gas reached 5 billion cubic feet per day, following a number of new discoveries. Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Wealth Tarek El Molla explains the developments in an interview with Daily News Egypt.

Is the ministry set to sign new petroleum agreements in the coming period?
The Ministry of Petroleum plans to sign five new oil agreements between foreign partners and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) to search for oil and gas in Egypt’s Western Desert, with minimum investments of $154m and signing grants worth $63.2m to drill 30 wells.

Interview with Egypt’s minister of petroleum & mineral resources, Tarek El-Molla - BP MAGAZINE

24 March 2017

Egypt has faced challenges to its energy supply in recent years, but is looking ahead to new opportunities to revive domestic production. The country’s minister of petroleum and mineral resources Tarek El-Molla talks to BP Magazine about a new era of investment, how Egypt is well-placed to become a regional energy hub on the eastern Mediterranean, and the significant role that BP is playing in the country’s energy future


What have been Egypt’s energy challenges over the last five years?

Our challenges over recent years really began with the revolution of 2011 and consecutive events that led to political instability, security issues and a general slowdown in the Egyptian economy; which was echoed in the oil and gas industry. 

BP to process 600 mcf/d of gas from WND using Shell’s Burullus treatment plant - ENTERPRISE / AL BORSA

Monday, 6 March 2017

BP is bringing 600 mcf/d of gas from West Nile Delta (WND) project’s Taurus and Libra fields in North Alexandria onstream and will process them at Shell’s Burullus gas treatment plant by the end of April, an unnamed source told Al Borsa.

The sources say Shell will charge BP USD 0.3 per mcf of gas processed in its plant and that BP is now completing a pipeline to link the Burullus plant with the gas fields. Production output from West Nile Delta (WND) project’s five fields will increase gradually to 1.25 mcf/d by end of 2019.

Subsea 7 engineering teams start on Atoll project offshore Egypt - OFFSHORE MAGAZINE

March/02/2017
Offshore staff

LUXEMBOURG – Subsea 7 says the last stage of the offshore campaign is under way in the Egyptian sector of the Mediterranean Sea for Phase One of the West Nile Delta project on the Taurus and Libra fields.

Fabrication has started for Phase Two on the Giza, Fayoum, and Raven fields. The company’s work on the East Nile Delta project is substantially completed and its engineering teams have mobilized for the newly awarded Atoll project.

Offshore Brazil, the last of the company’s newbuild Brazilian PLSVs, Seven Cruzeiro, started a long-term contract in January.

In the UK North Sea, preparations have continued for installation of pipeline bundles for the Culzean, Callater, and Western Isles projects.

Subsea 7 is cautiously optimistic about future prospects. It says the oil and gas market has achieved a degree of stability in recent months and there are indications that project sanctions will increase.

Van Oord wins two contracts for West Nile Delta offshore Egypt - OFFSHORE MAGAZINE

Van Oord's flexible fallpipe vessel 'Stornes' 

11/03/2016

Offshore staff

ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands – Subsea 7 has contracted Van Oord to construct the landfall and execute subsea rock installation works for the West Nile Delta project in the Egyptian sector of the Mediterranean Sea. Preparations on-site have already started.

The BP-operated project, located 65 km (40 mi) offshore northern Egypt, comprises the development of a series of gas fields. The first phase, which includes the Taurus and Libra fields, consists of a nine-well tieback to the existing Burullus facilities.

Egypt- BP produces 650m cubic feet from Taurus and Libra fields - MENAFN / DAILY NEWS EGYPT

17/10/2016 

(MENAFN - Daily News Egypt) BP signed an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell to process 650m cubic feet of gas, produced from its North Alexandria project, at Shell's Borollos station for 0.3 per million feet.

A senior source in the petroleum sector told Daily News Egypt that the process of linking the North Alexandria project to the station in Borollos will begin in the coming period.

He noted that Borollos gas treatment plant has an estimated capacity of about 1.1bn cubic feet per day. The station currently processes 650m cubic feet per day.

The North Alexandria project involves the development of five fields, starting with Taurus and Libra fields by linking them to the onshore processing facilities in Borollos in the third quarter of 2017. The company has completed 52% of operations in Taurus and Libra fields.