Cyprus National Hydrocarbons CEO Charles Ellinas has told "Bloomberg" that Total is interested in Block 12, which borders Israel's economic waters.
21 July 13 19:23, Amiram Barkat
French energy major Total S.A. (Euronext: FP; NYSE: TOT) is interested in buying rights in Cyprus's Block 12 from Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) and its partners Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) units Avner Oil and Gas LP(TASE: AVNR.L) and Delek Drilling Limited Partnership (TASE: DEDR.L), Charles Ellinas, CEO of state-owned Cyprus National Hydrocarbons Co. has told "Bloomberg." In his estimate the potential for gas discoveries in the licenses already allocated could amount to 40 trillion cubic feet (TCF).
Cyprus intends expanding the liquid natural gas (LNG) installation for export beyond its original plan even if Israel does not allow gas exports via the Cypriot facility. With the ongoing uncertainty regarding Israel's policy on gas exports, sources in Cyprus told "Globes" that "We are very interested in cooperation with Israel but we are not talking about a necessary condition for realizing our development program in the energy sector."
Cyprus is promoting a plan to build an LNG facility near Limassol at an investment of $12 billion. The facility will contain three production lines and the government recently signed a memorandum of understanding on the matter with Noble Energy, Avner and Delek Drilling Noble owns 70% of Block 12 (Aphrodite) and the Delek units hold 15% each. Under the terms of the agreement the first production line will be built at a cost of $6 billion with annual output of 5 million tons, or 8 billion cubic meters (BCM) of natural gas.
Subsequently a second two other production lines will be built each with a similar capacity at a cost of $3 billion each. The facility should be operating by 2019 with construction involving 10,000 workers beginning in 2016. Block 12 (Aphrodite) with up to 200 BCM and a further field that Noble expects to discover will supply gas to the facility. Noble is currently conducting a test drilling to try and estimate the size of the field. Development of the field could be affected by a spillover into Israeli economic waters.
With this in mind, Israel and Cyprus have been conducting talks for the past three years to reach a unitization agreement for arrangements in cooperation over the energy reserves of the two countries. Sources in Cyprus recently told "Globes" that if the agreement is not signed then Cyprus will have no choice but to develop is fields without an agreement. However, sources in Israel currently believe that such an agreement will be signed by the end of 2013 at the latest after the findings from the Block 12 drilling are received.
At the same time Cyprus is pushing ahead in developing other licenses that were distributed last year to leading global energy companies. Total already holds licenses for Blocks 10 and 11 and Italy's ENI holds the 2,3, and 9 licenses together with South Korea's Kogas. These groups have said that they would be interested in taking part in the development of the future LNG installation.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 21, 2013
By Shoshanna Solomon - Jul 18, 2013 7:29 PM GMT+0300
AP Photo A Noble Energy Inc. offshore oil and gas platform in the Eastern Mediterranean sea.
The deepest oil well drilled in Israel’s 65-year history may be the most important.
July 18 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg Television's Elliott Gotkine reports on off-shore oil exploration in Israel by companies including Shemen Oil & Gas Resources Ltd. (Source: Bloomberg)
Houston’s Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) will probe 6,500 meters (4 miles) below the Mediterranean seabed later this year, targeting as much as 1.5 billion barrels of crude, equal to about 15 years of Israeli demand.
While explorers have found enough natural gas in the past five years to turn Israel into an exporter, a major oil discovery would break new ground. The Middle East’s third-largest economy spends about $10 billion a year importing 98 percent of the oil it uses. Domestic production would increase tax revenue, boost the country’s balance of payments and reduce vulnerability to supply disruptions.
“The economic impact on Israel would be far greater than that of natural gas,” David Wurmser, director of the Washington-based Delphi Global Analysis Group, said in a phone interview. “Finding the oil would mean big money for the Israeli companies and the government.”
Noble isn’t the only explorer hunting for oil. Shemen Oil & Gas (SMOG) Resources Ltd. is looking to hit an oil field reckoned to hold 120 million barrels by the end of August. Gabi Ashkenazi, once Israel’s top general and now Shemen’s chairman, said finding crude will enhance the country’s security.
“If we are successful, it will be a strong push to the economy, and to the strategic objective to become energy independent,” said Ashkenazi, 59, who spent four years heading the armed forces before retiring in 2011. “Oil will be an important factor in this.” Tamar Field
Israel has discovered enough natural gas under the Mediterranean to supply the country for decades while leaving plenty left over for exports. In March, production started from the Tamar field, the largest yet developed, a project that may add about 1 percentage point to gross domestic product, according to the Bank of Israel. Leviathan, almost twice Tamar’s size, is scheduled to come on stream in 2016.
It’s at Leviathan that Noble, the lead partner in a group including local billionaire Isaac Tshuva’s Delek Drilling-LP and Avner Oil Exploration LLP (AVNRL), believes a layer of rock below the gas field may contain the equivalent of 210 million to 1.5 billion barrels of oil.
Noble expects to start a well at the end of this year when a new drilling ship is delivered fromSouth Korea and rates its chances of success at 25 percent, according to company filings.
“We believe there is potential for significant oil resources at this prospect and the basin,” Noble’s Susan Cunningham, senior vice president of exploration and business innovation, said in a May 2012 statement. Deeper Waters
The key to finding Israel’s offshore energy deposits has been technology -- developed in places like the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Brazil -- to drill in deeper waters and further under the seabed. The Leviathan oil well will be drilled in 1,600 meters of water and probe a further 6,500 through the rocks below, according to company filings.
“Thanks to advances in drilling technology, Israeli companies and their international partners can now reach greater depths that will enable oil exploration at lower geological levels than ever before,” Yossi Abu, chief executive officer of Delek Drilling (DEDRL), said in a phone interview.
Delek Group (DLEKG) shares advanced 1.4 percent today to the highest since June 23, bringing its 12-month rise to 82 percent. Delek Drilling shares closed little changed, capping a 40 percent rise in the past 12 months.
Avner shares gained 0.4 percent, bringing its 12-month advance to 36 percent. Ratio Oil Exploration 1992 LP (RATIL), also a partner in the Leviathan field, rose 2.4 percent, the most since June 23.
Because it’s deeper, the well will probably cost more than the $120 million spent making the original Leviathan discovery. The greater profits from pumping oil over gas make the expense worthwhile, Guil Bashan, an analyst at IBI-Israel Brokerage & Investments Ltd., said in a note in June. While gas requires expensive pipelines or export terminals, oil can be easily put in tankers and shipped wherever it’s wanted, he said. Raise Money
Still, drilling is uncertain. Ashkenazi’s Shemen had to raise money from investors twice this year after delays completing the Yam 3 well 16 kilometers (10 miles) off Israeli’s coast. It expects to to hit the well’s target depth by the end of August.
Former military and security officers like Ashkenazi are coveted by energy companies that find government contacts useful during the licensing process. Meir Dagan, former head of Israel’s intelligence service, Mossad, is chairman of oil explorer Gulliver Energy Ltd. (GLVR) Delek Group Ltd.’s chairman Gabriel Last was a deputy inspector-general of Israel’s police in the 1990s.
Israel’s search for oil and gas opens opportunities to supply neighboring countries that will enhance Israel’s security, Ashkenazi said.
“Natural resources in this region, especially in energy, are providing an opportunity to co-operate with some of our neighbors, maybe with Jordan, maybe with Turkey and other places,” said Ashkenazi, who fought Egyptian troops in the Sinai peninsula in 1973. “Energy is important, like water.” To contact the reporter on this story: Shoshanna Solomon in Tel Aviv atssolomon22@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net
Cyprus, the Mediterranean island that reported its first offshore natural-gas find in 2011, is studying an expansion of planned export capacity to help revive economic growth.
The country may build as many as five liquefied natural gas production lines, or trains, in addition to a planned $12 billion, three-train terminal near Limassol, according to Cyprus National Hydrocarbons Co., in charge of all gas developments. Extra gas for the plants could come from nearby countries.
“Three trains won’t be enough,” Chief Executive Officer Charles Ellinas said by telephone. “We may have land available for eight trains, to also make sure we can accommodate gas fromIsrael and Lebanon.”
Cyprus plans to start LNG exports in 2020 after it invited international companies to explore offshore. Gas shipments are part of a plan to boost the sputtering economy following a 10 billion-euro ($13 billion) bailout agreement with European partners and the International Monetary Fund this year.
Noble has a 70 percent stake in Block 12 off Cyprus and in late 2011 said it found 7 trillion cubic feet (198 billion cubic meters) of gas. The company last month began a second phase of appraisal drilling. Delek and Avner have 15 percent stakes in the same block.
Total SA (FP) and Eni SpA (ENI) have Cypriot exploration licenses too and are “keen on joining the LNG project,” Ellinas said yesterday. Total, which has rights to Blocks 10 and 11, may also be interested in working with Noble at Block 12, he said.
“We are in discussion with the Cyprus authorities to see how we can support them to develop a gas monetization scheme including LNG export,” Anastasia Zhivulina, a spokeswoman for Paris-based Total, said today, declining to comment on its potential interest in joining Block 12.
Eni is interested in investing in the terminal if oil and gas are found at its blocks, CEO Paolo Scaroni said yesterday.
Export of LNG, or gas chilled to a liquid for shipment, may help revive an economy that’s set to shrink about 13 percent in the next two years, IMF forecasts show. The plant may create as many as 10,000 jobs from as early as 2016, when construction is due to start, Ellinas said. Domestic gas output will also feed local power plants, helping to cut electricity bills.
Israel Gas
Cyprus is in talks with Noble on the potential for additional supplies from its Israeli Leviathan field for export from the Cypriot LNG plant, Ellinas said.
Cyprus has an advantage over Israel because it has already chosen a site for a terminal, Noble CEO Charles Davidson said in April.
Israel, which has found about 950 billion cubic meters of gas offshore, is studying ways to export the fuel from a region marked by political tensions. The choices include a floating LNG platform in its waters or delivery to regional hub Turkey. Noble expects commercial output from Leviathan around 2016.
“The government’s gas-export policy has to allow for multiple options,” Noble said in June. “We will explore every opportunity, but if the range is too limited, some of those opportunities will be lost.”
Gas from Noble’s Block 12 off Cyprus, which may contain “at least one more gas field,” will feed the terminal’s first train, which will produce 5 million tons of LNG a year, Ellinas said. Construction will cost $6 billion, while the second and third trains will cost $3 billion each, he said.
The six Cypriot exploration permits awarded so far may hold as much as 40 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to Ellinas. The government has other blocks yet to be licensed.
(Reuters) - Italian energy company ENI will start exploratory drilling for natural gas off Cyprus in the second half of 2014, its chief executive said on Thursday.
ENI signed an exploration and production-sharing contract with the Cypriot government in early 2013 to search for hydrocarbons in three offshore areas.
Paolo Scaroni, ENI's chief executive officer, said the company would launch an exploratory drilling in one offshore block next year.
"We are focussed on gas, and we believe it is gas, but it might very well be oil as well," Scaroni told reporters after meeting senior Cypriot government officials and the president.
There have been huge natural gas finds in the eastern Mediterranean in recent years. Cyprus, which required an international financial bailout earlier this year, is keen to get revenue from gas flowing as soon as possible.
U.S. based Noble Energy is conducting an appraisal drill off the island to verify 2011 finds of a reservoir containing 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Noble's concession areas lies just south of the area that ENI plans to explore next year.
France's Total has also signed a production-sharing contract for offshore exploration with the Cypriot government.
The U.S. Geological Survey has estimated that the Levant Basin, which lies largely in Cypriot and Israeli waters, holds around 3.5 trillion cubicmetres of recoverable gas.
Offshore reserves may help Greece and Cyprus rejuvenate their economies As Greece searches for a solution to its unending debt debacle and Cyprus seeks €5.8 billion ($7.6 billion) for its European bailout, both countries' best hope may lie under their very shores. In the past four years, fortunes in fossil fuels have been unearthed in the eastern Mediterranean. In April 2010, the US Geological Survey estimated 122 tcf of recoverable natural gas in the eastern-most part of the Mediterranean Sea (the Levant or Levantine basin), more than the world consumes in a year. If this and other estimates are correct, these offshore natural gas and oil deposits may play the deus ex machina to the current Greek drama.
Although parts of the Mediterranean Sea have been explored for many years, new technologies that allow highly sensitive underwater surveying and deeper offshore drilling have exhumed previously inaccessible reserves underneath the sea. Cyprus, for example, may hold 7 tcf of natural gas, which according to Cyprus' own commerce minister may be worth €100 billion ($131 billion). These figures have led some to speculate that Cyprus may lease or sell the rights to its newly discovered natural gas and oil to pay off its debts. A recent visit by Cyprus' finance and energy ministers to Russia to discuss debt solutions certainly helps fuel those whispers. Yet Cyprus was not the first place in the Mediterranean to unearth oil and gas. Israel's initiation
Major plays in the Mediterranean Sea.
It all started offshore Israel. Noble Energy, a Houston-based oil and gas company with Israeli ties, led the exploration of oil and gas in Israel's waters in the Levant basin. There Noble first discovered the Mari-B field, the first offshore natural gas production facility in Israel, which began production in 2004. Then Noble moved farther offshore discovering the fields Tamar in 2009 (9 tcf); Dalit in 2009 (0.5 tcf); Leviathan in December 2010 (17 tcf – enough to supply Israel's gas needs for 100 years); and Dolphin/Tanin in February 2012 (1.2 tcf). To put these amounts into perspective, in 2011 the three largest natural-gas consuming countries consumed 24.3 tcf (the United States), 17.9 tcf (Russia), and 5.4 tcf (Iran).
The Leviathan gas field is Noble Energy's largest find, and Noble retains a 39.66% working interest, sharing with Avner Oil and Gas (22.67%), Delek Drilling (22.67%), and Ratio Oil Exploration (15%). Leviathan is predicted to start production in 2016, while Tamar, the second-largest find in the Levant basin, began production this past March. Along with natural gas, Noble Energy also estimates that Leviathan could hold up to 4.3 Bbbl of oil. Israel has long depended on foreign sources for its energy needs, making these finds very welcome news. Gideon Tadmor, chairman of Delek Drilling and chief of Avner Oil, both subsidiaries of Delek Energy Systems, said in a New York Times article that these offshore natural gas discoveries have "enabled Israel to enter a new era in which we will become an exporter of energy."
Cypriot second wind
Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is emerging as a significant offshore play.
While developing its Israeli finds, Noble Energy also eyed the waters of Cyprus. In October 2008, Noble Energy received the exploration rights off the southern coast of Cyprus to block 12 of Cyprus' maritime Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). After beginning exploratory drilling in September 2011, Noble discovered the Aphrodite gas field. This find is 21 mi (13 km) west of the Leviathan gas field. It is believed to hold 7 tcf of natural gas, more than Cyprus could consume in a century. Noble shares ownership of the well (70%) with Delek Drilling (15%) and Avner Oil Exploration (15%), the same partners in the Leviathan field. The country's Commerce Minister, Praxoulla Antoniadou, estimated that 7 tcf of gas in block 12 is worth around €100 billion. In fact, Solon Kassinis and Charles Ellinas, heads of the Cyprus Natural Hydrocarbons Co. (CNHC), have both said that Cyprus envisages having more than 60 tcf of total gas reserves in its EEZ. This too comes as welcome news to a debt-ridden and cash-strapped Cyprus.
In February 2012, Cyprus announced a second licensing round for the remaining 12 out of 13 blocks of Cyprus' EEZ. On Jan. 24, 2013, Cyprus licensed a consortium including Italy's Eni and South Korea's KoreaGas Corp. (Kogas) to explore blocks 2, 3, and 9 of Cyprus' EEZ. Additionally, on Feb. 6, 2013, France's Total paid Cyprus €24 million ($31.6 billion) for the license to explore blocks 10 and 11. Total announced it would conduct a series of 10 exploratory drillings for gas and oil over the next three years. It is thought that it will focus mainly on oil. It will likely take these companies until 2018 to produce oil and gas for domestic consumption and 2019 for export.
Pipelines versus LNG The greatest debate surrounding the Leviathan and Aphrodite discoveries is how to transport the oil and gas to market. There seem to be four possibilities on the table: a pipeline to Turkey; a pipeline to Greece; a liquefaction plant in Cyprus; and a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel.
The first option is politically complicated. Building a pipeline to Turkey that would feed into existing pipeline infrastructure to Europe could be the most cost-efficient choice. However, Turkey has already decried Cyprus' offshore exploration, claiming the waters as its own, threatening to cut participating energy companies from access to Turkey's market, and sending a warship into the area after test drilling started in 2012. Even if Cypriots and Turks could agree on the rights to the Aphrodite oil and gas, Cypriots worry that Turkey will, like Russia, use the gas valves for political ploys.
As for the Israelis, Turkish relations have been similarly strained; at least they were before March 22, 2013. On that day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly apologized to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan for Israel's 2010 raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara that resulted in the death of nine Turkish activists seeking to bring aid to Gaza. Israel may have extended this olive branch to facilitate warmer relations between Israel and Turkey on the Syrian issue, and to smooth the possibility of a potential pipeline to bring natural gas from Leviathan to Europe through Turkey. However, while this public statement may ease tensions between the two countries, the threat of Turkey turning off the pipeline in the future remains; and there is also the unending Palestinian impasse (Turkey supports Palestine). Thus although possible, a pipeline through Turkey remains problematic.
The second option would entail constructing a pipeline from Cyprus to Crete and from Crete to Greece, connecting then to existing pipelines throughout Europe. However, this option appears to not be commercially viable. At least that seemed to be the conclusion at the 2nd Cyprus Energy Forum in December 2012. Solon Kassinis, vice president of the CNHC, hinted that this idea has been all but abandoned. The main concerns appear to be the high construction cost, long construction time, falling electricity demand and prices in Europe, and the necessary long-term supply contracts that would be linked to the price of oil.
The third option consists of constructing a liquefaction plant in Cyprus, where the natural gas from both the Leviathan and Aphrodite fields could be liquefied and shipped. The major benefit of this option is that the LNG can then be shipped to a variety of markets (Europe as well as Asia), garnering higher prices on the spot market. The largest drawback however is the price tag – LNG terminals typically cost about $10 billion (as compared to $1 billion for a Cyprus-Turkey pipeline). Kassinis explained at the 2nd Cyprus Energy Forum that Cyprus was contemplating an LNG facility with up to three trains for a total capacity of up to 15 MM tons/yr. An LNG train is a liquefaction and purification facility, which typically has capacity for 5 MM tons of natural gas a year. For those wondering about constructing an LNG plant in Israel instead of Cyprus, this option appears impractical because of limited space, environmental concerns, and security problems in Israel.
The fourth option is mooring a floating LNG vessel at Leviathan and Aphrodite. On one hand, this option has great advantages – exportable LNG and lower cost relative to a pipeline to Greece – but on the other hand the technology is new and untested. There are also fears that the vessel would be vulnerable to terrorism.
While no option has definitively been chosen, recent developments suggest that an LNG plant in Cyprus will win the day. Cyprus has announced plans to build the Vasilikos LNG Terminal at the Vasilikos Energy Centre, which already serves as an energy hub on the island. It seems that the CNHC and Noble Energy are waiting for final confirmation of block 12 reserves before potentially entering into a joint venture to build Train 1 of the LNG terminal. They should have this confirmation by the end of 2013. Subsequent trains will depend on the extent of more natural gas finds. It is not clear whether Israel will choose to connect its Leviathan field to the Vasilikos LNG terminal. While it has achieved some sort of rapprochement with Turkey, suggesting that it is contemplating building a pipeline to Turkey, such a pipeline would also pass through Lebanese and Syrian waters and require those countries' approval. Considering this and the other shortcomings of a Turkish pipeline listed before, it is likely that Israel will connect to the Vasilikos terminal any natural gas that exceeds its domestic needs.
Greek hopes
These oil and gas discoveries in Israel and Cyprus are also providing inspiration to those Greeks who hope to drill themselves out of debt, and lessen Russia's natural gas grip over Europe. "It is important that Greece returns to the energy map again," said Energy Minister Evangelos Livieratos. "Our country can attract new investment, create new jobs, and boost its geo-strategic position and competitiveness to exit the crisis." In 2012, one study by Athens-based Flow Energy estimated €600 billion ($787.9 billion) worth of offshore natural gas in Greece over 25 years. This study discovered geological similarities between the Levantine basin and offshore Crete. In the waters south of Crete, the study estimates 3.5 tcm (123.6 tcf) of natural gas, enough to cover over six years of EU gas demand, and 1.5 Bbbl of oil.
Still others estimate that total offshore oil in Greek waters exceeds 22 Bbbl of oil in the Ionian Sea and some 4 Bbbl in the northern Aegean Sea. Evangelos Kouloumbis, former Greek Industry minister, recently stated that Greece could cover 50% of its needs with the oil to be found in offshore fields in the Aegean Sea. Highlighting how unexplored Greece is regarding hydrocarbon potential, one Greek analyst, Aristotle Vassilakis, cited surveys that estimate $9 trillion worth of natural gas. Tulane University oil expert David Hynes told an audience in Athens recently that Greece could potentially solve its entire public debt crisis through development of its new-found gas and oil, conservatively estimating that reserves already discovered could bring Greece more than €302 billion ($396.5 billion) over 25 years.
Despite the touted potential of oil and gas in Greece, it is important to remember that almost 200 fruitless test wells have been bored in various parts of Greece in the past century. The most recent one was approximately 12 years ago. However, those who are optimistic about Greece's energy potential respond that most of the tests were badly managed or carried out at the wrong locations. Right now, Greece spends €10-12 billion ($13-15.7 billion) a year on oil imports, about 5% of its GDP. This dependence on foreign oil, coupled with its need for financial solutions, might make oil and gas Greece's silver bullet.
On Nov. 11, 2012, the Norwegian Petroleum Geo-Services ASA (PGS) began a three-month long seismic survey of the Ionian Sea and water south of Crete, an area that covers a total 220,000 sq km (84, 942 sq mi), an area 40% larger than mainland Greece. By mid-2013, the survey analysis should be complete, and in the first half of 2014 Greece plans to hold a licensing round for exploration blocks. However, before holding a licensing round, Greece would also need to establish an EEZ, a move it has yet to undertake. Other Mediterranean hopes
In addition to Israel, Cyprus, and Greece, other Mediterranean countries are interested in exploring for natural gas and oil. Incited by the finds of their eastern neighbors, Spain and Italy are looking into offshore exploration. "There is a lot of potential, we believe, in the Mediterranean region," said Simon Thomson, chief executive of Cairn Energy of Britain, which is exploring off the coast of Spain and bidding for licenses in Cyprus. "A lot of hydrocarbons have already been discovered, but we believe there's a lot more to be discovered."
Expressing the same sentiment, petroleum geologist David Peace told Reuters that "[i]f you look at the offshore license map of Italy, about two-thirds of it is open…Italy is one area that has been overlooked, especially the south." To facilitate these efforts, Italy is relaxing its ban on offshore drilling, placed after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill.
More specifically, there appears to be interest in the waters around Malta, with geologists believing that the oil-rich geology of nearby Libya extends northward underneath the sea. The prospects are strong enough that Genel Energy (headed by former chief executive of BP Tony Hayward) has partnered with Bill Higgs (chief executive of London-based Mediterranean Oil and Gas). The company hopes to finish drilling its first well in the area by the end of 2013.
Natural gas in Europe To compare the figures in Israel, Cyprus, and Greece to Europe, one needs to review the natural gas production and consumption among European countries and the reserves of natural gas these countries hold. For this analysis, all figures were taken from the Energy Information Administration's website. Norway clearly leads the continent in natural gas production while also having a very low degree of consumption. The Netherlands and United Kingdom are the only other two significant producers, although production in the UK has declined significantly over the past four years. As a comparison, one could note that in 2011, Russia produced 23,686 bcf, more than six times what Norway produced. The major consumers of natural gas are the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Turkey, the Netherlands, and Spain. In general, consumption seems to have declined in the past four years, especially in Germany, except in Turkey, which shows an upswing in consumption in 2011. Lastly, Norway and the Netherlands lay claim to the largest reserves in Europe by far, although Russia's 1,680 tcf in reserves dwarfs that amount.
John Pappas is a Project Finance Associate in the Washington, D.C., office of the law firm Chadbourne & Parke LLP. He is a member of the New York Bar and the Energy Bar Association, and can be contacted at jpappas@chadbourne.com. SOURCE
CYPRUS inches closer to making up its mind on whether to import interim
supplies of natural gas – but the million-dollar question still stands:
will it drive down sky high electricity prices?
Talks between the Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA) and preferred bidder
Itera are set to continue into next week, after negotiations on
Wednesday and Thursday did not yield an agreement.
Cyprus is seeking to secure a short-term supplier of natural gas not
exceeding 1.2 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year as a stop-gap solution
until it can bring ashore its own natural gas. The interim gas would be
used for domestic electricity production.
Under the terms of the call for expression of interest, the supply of
gas was to begin no later than early 2015 and last up until September
2018, when the island should be able to start using its own resources
from the natural gas discovery in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
In terms of technology, DEFA’s tender is open-ended: liquefied natural
gas (LNG), compressed natural gas (CNG), or any other technology. The
top criteria are time and cost, and DEFA has reserved the right not to
finalise any deal if the price of electricity generated by natural gas
will be higher than that currently produced from diesel.
Under the circumstances, the import options are predictable. Should CNG
be selected, Cyprus (or the gas supplier) will have to build the first
CNG ship in the world. Currently no such ship has been built. The
American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) – a classification society – has
approved one such concept but no shipyard has built one to date.
The second option is to lay a submarine pipeline either from Israel’s
Tamar field, which has just come online, or from the Aphrodite gas
field. Here, the engineering challenges are significant. Considering
that the pipeline will be laid in water depth at times reaching 2,200m,
the project would take three to four years to complete.
Another scenario would be to import liquefied natural gas on LNG ships
with onboard regasifigation facilities which will convert cryogenically
cooled LNG into its gaseous form. These ships are known as floating,
storage and regasification units (FSRUs).
Electricity prices in Cyprus are among the highest in the EU
Details of the bids are bound by a confidentiality agreement, but
it’s understood that Itera’s proposal envisages the deployment of FSRUs.
Local media reports this week said Itera’s offer would see the gas sold
to Cyprus just under $16 per million British Thermal Units (mBTU).
Reportedly, DEFA is trying to get Itera to drop its final price a little
more in order to clinch a deal.
But $15 or $16 per mBTU is not much lower than the electricity utility’s
current cost of producing electricity from diesel, believed to be
between $17 and $18 per mBTU. The EAC will not disclose its cost of
electricity production, keeping it a closely guarded secret.
Just as talks with Itera were entering an advanced and delicate stage,
it was leaked to the press that Noble Energy, which has a concession on
offshore Block 12, has approached the government with its own idea for
short-term supply of gas.
For the time being Noble’s proposal is ‘informal’, in that it falls
outside the bidding process conducted by DEFA. That’s likely why the
government – wary of being accused of acting in bad faith with Itera –
has not confirmed Noble’s pitch, although industry sources have since
corroborated that such an offer was made.
The US energy firm is said to be proposing to deploy a spar platform at
the Aphrodite well to produce a gas flow smaller than conventional
drilling platforms but still enough to cater to domestic electricity
needs.
Reports said Noble is suggesting bringing the gas to the Vasilikos power
plant by early 2016 – later than Itera – but at a cheaper price, $12
per mBTU.
Now, the Sunday Mail hears that yet another company is making a play:
Sea NG, which specialises in the development and commercialisation of
technology for marine transportation of CNG.
The Canadian company, which bid for the tender but did not make the
final cut, claims it can deliver gas by 2015 and for a lower price than
the others. Sea NG, sources said, would secure gas from Israel’s Tamar
field and ship it to Cyprus.
Israeli currently pays $5.8 per mBTU for electricity from its own gas.
Even assuming a slight mark-up on that price were the Israelis to sell
to Cyprus, and with Sea NG adding another $5 for delivery, that would
bring the tariff to between $10 and $11 per mBTU.
Meanwhile the Sunday Mail understands that in its tender DEFA cited two
different maximum distances for the source of the gas. Though not naming
the countries, it is evident that DEFA had Egypt and Israel in mind.
Analysts say the CNG method is ideal for markets within 2,000km of the
gasfield, and CNG is economical over short sea journeys compared with
LNG.
Still, it would take some convincing officials here since CNG has yet to be implemented anywhere in the world.
On the back of Noble’s spar platform proposal, Sea NG is now floating
the idea of shipping gas from Cyprus’ Block 12. They would do this by
deploying ships to Noble’s spar platform, and from there, the ships
would fill up with the fuel in its gaseous form, compress it on board
and transport it to a receiving facility at Vasilikos. Again, this
proposal is outside the DEFA tenders process. Presumably, both Sea NG’s
as well as Noble’s offers might be considered later should no deal be
struck with Itera in the bids process.
Sea NG’s ‘taxi service’ to and from Block 12 would become relevant, for
example, should Noble encounter difficulties in building a pipeline from
its spar platform to the island’s south coast, and might choose instead
to ship the gas in compressed form.
Sea NG estimates the total tab of its project to be in the vicinity of €500m.
By contrast, a pipeline alone running from the Aphrodite well to
Vasilikos might cost double that. And besides the higher overheads for
the related infrastructure, LNG is more expensive than the fuel in its
gaseous form.
Moreover, sources said, Sea NG is willing to put up all the capital and
to offer standard industry guarantees in the event of supply disruption.
The Sunday Mail is told also that the company has briefed both the
Electricity Authority of Cyprus (the prospective buyer of natural gas)
and the Cyprus National Hydrocarbons Company.
Successive reports by Eurostat have shown the price of household and
industrial electricity in Cyprus to be among the highest in the EU. The
electricity utility here has invested millions in acquiring dual-fuel
combined-cycle gas turbines that run on either fuel oil or natural gas.
For the moment, the machines continue to burn only the more expensive
diesel.
Using LNG or CNG as an interim solution would almost certainly bring
down electricity costs – but by how much? Will the cost be
‘substantially lower’ than current costs, as DEFA has specified in its
tender? And how does one define ‘substantially lower’?
The Tamar and Leviathan partners signed a MOU with the Cypriot government to build an LNG plant on the island's southern coast.
26 June 13 13:21, Globes' correspondent
Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG), controlled by Yitzhak Tshuva and Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) have signed a memorandum of understand with the Cypriot government to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant at Vasilikos on the island's southern coast. The companies are partners in Israeli offshore fields Tamar and Leviathan and in Cyprus's Block 12.
The companies' objective is to reach a final agreement by the end of 2013 to establish a joint special-purpose vehicle which will seek investors for the €7-8 billion LNG plant. "On this basis, it is planned that the first LNG cargo would be delivered from the Vasilikos plant to international markets in late 2019, early 2020," said an official statement.
Delek Drilling LP (TASE: DEDR.L) CEO and Avner Oil and Gas LP (TASE:AVNR.L) chairman Gideon Tadmor said the memorandum of understanding demonstrates the Cypriot government’s and the companies’ commitment to go ahead with the construction of the LNG plant.
“The signing of the memorandum between the Republic of Cyprus and the companies represents the next milestone on the road map for the exploitation of indigenous gas reserves in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone”, said Cyprus Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Toursim Yiorgos Lakkotrypis. He added that the LNG plant would be the basic and necessary infrastructure which would allow the export of Cypriot natural gas to the European and global markets.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 26, 2013
