East Med oil and gas: views from Norway - IN CYPRUS / CYPRUS WEEKLY

November 5, 2016
By Charles Ellinas

This article is based on meetings and discussions in Norway between October 30 and November 2. They were organised by German think-tank Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). The meetings included Statoil, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norges (the central bank of Norway) and PRIO.

These helped better understand Norway’s approach to oil and gas, values, transparency, business model and views about European markets and Eastern Mediterranean (East Med) prospects.

Barbaros to sail for fresh surveys in Cyprus EEZ - CYPRUS MAIL

November 4, 2016
EVIE ANDREOU

THE controversial Turkish survey vessel Barbaros is to conduct research again off the coast of Cyprus soon, an official in Ankara said on Friday.

The head of Turkey’s national petroleum company, Besim Şişman, told Anadolu press agency that the Barbaros will conduct important seismic research off the coast of Cyprus in the upcoming period.

He added that upon the completion of explorations, the company could drill off the coast of Cyprus. As such investments are expensive, he said, they are waiting for the oil prices to be corrected before they proceed with such a procedure.

Low gas prices clog pipeline projects, EastMed’s Leviathan - NEW EUROPE

NOVEMBER 4, 2016, 13:06
Kostis Geropoulos

ATHENS – Low gas prices have a limited effect on the planning of major pipeline projects, including plans to export gas from the East Mediterranean, DEPA CEO Theodoros Kitsakos said.

He was responding to a question from New Europe at a Russian-Greek forum in Athens on November 2 on whether low gas prices could affect the development of gas projects, including the EastMed pipeline.

“The decision whether the gas from the Levantine Basin will come to Europe via Cyprus and Turkey, which it is a political issue, or via EastMed from an offshore pipeline to Crete, Peloponnese and upwards, it does not have to do so much with the price of natural gas at Leviathan,” the head of the Public Gas Corporation of Greece said, adding that this is a long-term, strategic project.

Gas in the Eastern Mediterranean: "pragmatism" is the watchword - ABO

Nov, 04 2016
Nicoló Sartori

While it is clear to many that gas in the Eastern Mediterranean is an opportunity for the entire region, it is equally clear that concrete initiatives on the industrial plan must be launched in adequate times and manner
In recent years, the development of gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean has fueled high expectations in the region and globally. Not only as a strengthening factor of energy policies for the players involved, but also as a real geopolitical game-changer and uniting element in an area that is still very unstable and divided. In addition to this is the hope that gas discoveries will act as a catalyst for greater cooperation between the European Union (Italy in particular) and the southern Mediterranean countries, the Mare Nostrum too often becoming a disaggregating element rather than a™ driver of peace and prosperity. However, as emerged from the conference organized in October by the Institute of International Affairs (IAI) and by the Italian Centre for Peace in the Middle East (CIPMO), optimism regarding the possible development of hydrocarbons in the region must necessarily deal with a series of local dynamics, time constraints and economic and industrial factors that will significantly influence the possibilities for gas exploration and export from the area.

General Electric Gas expands service facilities in Egypt : GAFI - AMWAL AL GHAD / ZAWYA

Thursday, 03 November 2016

General Electric Gas and Oil announced Thursday it would expand its service facilities in Egypt in cooperation with the Egyptian General Authority for Investment (GAFI).

The world leader in advanced technologies and services would add 2,000 square meters to its affiliate firm in the free industrial zone, totaling 5,000 square metres.

This step comes after company's meeting with Mohamed Khodair, the CEO of GAFI.

Khodair expressed his delight over GE announcement to expand in injecting new investments into Egypt.

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.

Israel: a bright spot for Noble - NATURAL GAS WORLD

November 03rd, 2016, 9:20am

Ya'acov Zalel

Noble Energy recorded a net loss of $144mn in Q3, halving its Q3 2015 loss of $286mn. The company's most profitable region was Israel, where the company recorded revenues of $150mn and income before taxes of $135mn. That compares to $647mn revenues from operations in the US and a loss before taxes of $407mn.

Noble reported record sales in Israel following the decision by the energy ministry to accelerate the use of natural gas for power generation by 15% from 2015 to 2016.

Noble sold 310mn ft³/d in Israel, an increase of 2.3%. The average gas price in Israel was $5.22/mn Btu while in the US the average price was $2.38/mn Btu.

Discounted Cash Flow Report for the Leviathan Leases - DELEK GROUP

Tel Aviv, November 3, 2016. Delek Group (TASE: DLEKG, US ADR: DGRLY) (“the Company”) announces that further to section 1.7.5 (I) of the Company's periodic report as at March 31, 2016, as revised and published on May 30, 2016 (Ref. No. 2016-01-037758) (the "Periodic Report") concerning the Leviathan Project resources within the North Leviathan I/14 and South Leviathan I/15 Leases ("the South Leviathan Lease" and " the North Leviathan Lease", respectively) (the South Leviathan and North Leviathan Leases will be referred to below as: "Leviathan Leases" or "Leviathan Reservoir" or "Leviathan Project"), to section 1.7.13 (1)J(3) of the Periodic Report 

with regard to the agreement for the supply of natural gas from the Leviathan Project to Edeltech Ltd., to the Immediate Report issued by the Company on May 29, 2016 (Ref. No. 2016-1-036867) concerning the Leviathan Project partners’ engagement in an agreement for the supply of natural gas from the Leviathan Project to IPM Beer Tuvia Ltd., to the Immediate Report issued by the Company on June 2, 2016 (Ref. No. 2016-1-043794) 

Gazprom Waiting for EC Proposal on Gas Transit Via Turkish Stream - SPUTNIK NEWS

20:14 02.11.2016

Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom said that Russian energy giant has still not received any official proposal from the European Commission on gas transit to Europe via the Turkish Stream pipeline. 

Russian energy giant Gazprom has still not received any official proposal from the European Commission on gas transit to Europe via the Turkish Stream pipeline, Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom Alexander Medvedev said Wednesday. 

“The European Commission, together with its member states should choose where gas should go from. We are ready to supply this gas, including through Turkey. From the European Commission's side, we have not received any official proposals so far,” Medvedev told Rossiya-24 TV channel. 

Greece, Bulgaria extend gas interconnector capacity bids to end-November - PLATTS

London (Platts)--2 Nov 2016 1040 am EDT/1440 GMT
By Stuart Elliott, edited by Alisdair Bowles

Greece and Bulgaria have agreed to extend to the end of November the deadline for binding bids for capacity in the planned Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria designed to improve gas connectivity in southeast Europe.

The deadline for binding offers had been set for October 31, but the pipeline operator said it had extended the deadline "at the request of participants in the first phase."

A total of nine non-binding expressions of interest for a total of 5.3 Bcm/year of capacity were submitted in the first phase earlier this year.

Best hope for Israeli gas - Turkey, not European market - TREND NEWS AGENCY

2 November 2016 11:10 (UTC+04:00)

Leman Zeynalova

The recent talks between Israel, Greece, Italy and Cyprus on Israeli gas export to Europe
are largely political talks, Charles Ellinas, oil market expert, former executive president at Cyprus National Hydrocarbons Company (CNHC) told Trend Nov.2.

Such a pipeline can become commercially viable if gas prices in Europe double, to over $8 per mmBTU, which is not likely to happen in the foreseeable future, said the expert.

Touching upon the possibility of building a pipeline from Israel to Turkey, Ellinas pointed out that this pipeline is priority and is also commercially viable.

The only obstacle is that it is has to go through Cyprus, which could be easier with solution of the Cyprus problem, he added.

However, the expert said that there is also some resistance to the construction of such a pipeline both in Israel and in Turkey.

Our priority to further expand EEZ exploration: Lakkotrypis - SIGMA LIVE / CNA

01.11.2016 18:21

Cyprus Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said today that “Cyprus’ number one priority is to further deepen and expand exploration activities, in order to identify the natural gas resources that lie in the country’s exclusive economic zone.”

Addressing a Nicosia-based Summit organised by The Economist, Lakkotrypis referred to opportunities for further gas discoveries in the area, saying they amount to 2,000bcm (billion cubic metres). In comparison, “Europe consumed 430bcm last year,” he added.

The Energy Minister also referred to the Zhor reservoir discovery by ENI, off Egypt’s coast, noting that “it marked the potential and possibilities existing for Cyprus and the region.”

He also added that “Israel is launching another licensing round this month.”

Condor to complete Poyraz well in Turkey - OIL & GAS JOURNAL

HOUSTON, Nov. 1
11/01/2016
By OGJ editors

Condor Petroleum Inc., Calgary, has cemented production casing in a well that logged at least 135 m of net natural gas pay in stacked reservoirs at the edge of Poyraz Ridge gas field under development in northwestern Turkey.

Pay in the Poyraz 3 well is in Miocene Kirazli and Gazhanedere sandstones and Eocene Sogucak carbonate.

The company said the well encountered no gas-water contact in basal Gazhanedere reservoirs. The gas-water contact in the Sogucak was confirmed to be at the structural spill point of Poyraz Ridge field.

Condor President and Chief Executive Officer Don Streu said borehole imaging of the Sogucak “confirms the presence of an extensive network of fractures with the pay column, which should serve to enhance flow performance.”

EGPC grants SDX Energy, PICO preliminary approval to extend drilling in South Ramadan concession - ENERGY EGYPT / ENTERPRISE PRESS

November 1, 2016

EGPC gave SDX Energy and PICO Petroleum preliminary approvals to extend drilling operations at the South Ramadan concession, SDX Energy’s country director Ahmed Moaz told Al Mal.

The preliminary agreement does not specify a date for the extension and includes the operators spending USD 23 mn in the project.

Moaz says the operators have not received a formal approval agreement yet, but says they are willing to agree to extending the drilling period terms even if they are just to July 2017, even though they have asked for it to be extended to July 2018.

Cyprus-Israel military exercise continues - IN CYPRUS / CYPRUS WEEKLY

November 1, 2016

Cyprus and Israel are expected to complete the second and final phase of their joint Onisilos-Gideon 2/2016 air and ground military exercise on Tuesday.

According to a Defence Ministry announcement, the drill – which has seen Israeli jets flying through Nicosia FIR – will end at 7pm. The exercise is also taking place on land within the Republic of Cyprus with the participation of the Cyprus National Guard ground forces.

Sharing a common interest in securing offshore mineral exploration areas throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, Israel and Cyprus began the Onisilos-Gideon 2/2016 exercise on Monday.

Deadline extension for Greece-Bulgaria pipeline - KATHIMERINI / REUTERS

31.10.2016 : 18:54

The deadline for binding offers for the use of the natural gas pipeline between Bulgaria and Greece has been extended by a month to the end of November due to requests from bidders, the joint venture that runs the project said on Monday.

Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), estimated to cost 220 million euros, has received nine expressions of interest to transport gas through it for a total capacity of 4.3 billion of cubic meters.

Earlier this month Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said four companies that have not participated in the first phase of the market test have said they are interested in bidding, pending a nod from Bulgarian and Greek energy regulators.

After Saudi Halts Oil Shipments, Egypt Turns to Iraq Deal - NEW YORK TIMES / ASSOCIATED PRESS

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OCT. 31, 2016, 12:40 P.M. E.D.T.

CAIRO — Egypt's state news agency says the country's oil ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding with its Iraqi counterpart to pave the way for Egypt to import oil from Iraq.

Oil Minister Tarek el-Mulla was quoted by MENA on Monday as saying that the agreement will "open the doors" for developing oil cooperation with Iraq.

His Iraqi counterpart, Jabar al-Luaibi, says that the agreement prepares the way for wide cooperation, including on Iraqi oil exports to Egypt. He says Iraq offered Egypt the opportunity to invest in 12 Iraqi oil fields.

The deal comes nearly three weeks after Saudi Arabia's abrupt decision to halt previously agreed oil shipments to Egypt, putting heavy pressure on the government. Egypt angered the Saudis by voting in favor of Russia's draft resolution on Syria.

Preparing to drill - IN CYPRUS / CYPRUS WEEKLY

SAIPEM's Castoro Sei, at Limassol port, off to Zohr Field at EOY

October 30, 2016
By Charles Ellinas

Total and EDT signed a contract on October 6, in the presence of Transport Minister Marios Demetriades and Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis, signifying the restart of drilling in Block 11 by April 2017.

It was a happy occasion, with Demetriades confirming to the two companies that the government will do its utmost to support their work “because we believe that the hydrocarbons industry has a future in Cyprus”.

The day after signature of the contract, the whole process started unravelling. It was revealed that the recently-awarded contract to DP World and GAP Vassilopoulos (Consortium) for marine and port services at Limassol port, as part of the privatisation process, was posing problems.

While Cyprus Awaits Gas Future, It Explores Shorter Term Solutions - FORBES

OCT 30, 2016 @ 05:37 PM
Christopher Coats, CONTRIBUTOR

Still years away from exploiting its own natural gas potential, Cyprus is now reviving efforts to nail down import options to help the country meet its climate targets through liquefied natural gas projects.

According to media reports, Cyprus is preparing to launch a study into importing LNG to help meet the country’s domestic demand and ease the planned transition towards lower emissions power production.

“The objective of the study is, based on the analysis of the various options of LNG supplies, to identify and propose an option/project, an appropriate process and a timetable for the supply of gas to Cyprus [as soon as possible] and before 2020,” according to a tender released by state-owned Natural Gas Public Co.

Israel has limited options with its gas exports - GULF NEWS

October 30, 2016, 12:42 
Saadallah Al Fathi, Special to Gulf News

Stiff opposition in Jordan could mean existing deals might have to be rewritten

Since the major discoveries of gas in the East Mediterranean, especially in 2010, Israel has gone out in all directions to find viable export routes for its gas ... but with limited results so far.

In 1999, Israel discovered two small gasfields (Noa and Mari) with limited reserves of 1.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf), which are almost depleted now. However, in 2009, Dalit and Tamar fields were discovered with reserves of 0.5 and 10 tcf respectively and were speedily developed to supply Israel with gas after the stoppage of the Egyptian exports in 2012.

The major discovery was in 2010 when Leviathan was discovered about 150 kilometres west of Haifa in what Israel claims to be its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Its reserves were estimated at 18- to 22-tcf and in 2012 Tanin and Karish fields were discovered to add 3 tcf of reserves.

Gas exports to Turkey paused for 7 days - MEHR NEWS AGENCY

News ID: 3809056
Sat 29 October 2016 - 13:47

TEHRAN, Oct. 29 (MNA) – NIGC announced on Friday that exports of Iranian gas to Turkey will remain ceased for seven days due to construction processes.

The National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) confirmed the halt in Iran’s natural gas exports to Turkey; “due to an explosion in a gas export pipeline on Turkish territories, the gas flow to the neighboring country has reached a temporarily hiatus.”

“Turkey's Butash Gas Company made correspondences to inform NIGC on the gas incident,” said an official asserting “on Thursday evening at 21:30 p.m., the transmission line to Turkey exploded deep under the ground 12 kilometers from Bazargan border and gas export to the neighboring country is temporarily interrupted.”

Cyprus revives LNG import plans - INTERFAX

Cyprus’s Vasilikos gas-fired power station(J&P Group)

28 October 2016
Verity Ratcliffe

Cyprus is preparing to launch an independent study into importing LNG as Nicosia looks to revive plans for an LNG purchase tender.

State-owned Natural Gas Public Co. (DEFA) has invited consultants to submit bids to carry out the research. Up to 10 bids are expected from companies including Gaffney, Cline & Associates, KPMG, Wood Mackenzie, DEP Levant Oil & Gas, DNVGL, Arntzen de Besche and Genesis Oil and Gas.

"The objective of the study is, based on the analysis of the various options of LNG supplies, to identify and propose an option/project, an appropriate process and a timetable for the supply of gas to Cyprus [as soon as possible] and before 2020," the tender documents say.

EGPC, Kuwait Energy sign agreement on Iraq's Siba gas field - NATURAL GAS WORLD

October 28th, 2016 8:35amShardul Sharma

Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation has inked an agreement with Kuwait Energy to buy stake in Siba gas field in Iraq’s Basra region, the Egyptian oil ministry said October 26. The field has reserves of 555bn ft³ of natural gas and 37mn barrels of condensate.

The ministry stated that EGPC will have a 15% interest in the field. It expects production to be 70mn ft³/d by 2017 which is likely to rise to 100-150mn ft³/d. Egyptian Petrojet will be the general contractor of the field development project through carrying out all the executive and engineering works of the project at costs of $200mn.

This is the second partnership between the two sides outside Egypt. Kuwait Energy farmed out a10% working interest in Block 9 in southern Iraq to EGPC and now has 60%.

Libya’s oil output reaches 670 thousand bpd - ECOFIN AGENCY

Friday, 28 October 2016 - 08:54Anita Fatunji

(Ecofin Agency) - Libya has witnessed an extraordinary increase in oil production reaching 670 thousand barrels per day, according to the head of the media office of the Libyan Tripoli-based National Oil Corporation (NOC), Mohammed Al-Maghribi.

“That is all because the NOC has resumed work in some previously-shut oilfields,” he said.

The country’s oil production has been gradually increasing, following the reopening of key terminals and oilfields as well as the resumption of exportation. An official at the NOC, Ibrahim Al-Uwami, said that Libya’s oil output is steadily rising and is expected to reach 1.5 million bpd once the necessary budget for refurbishment procedures in the oilfields and terminals is provided for the NOC.

“That would skyrocket our oil production in no time, coupled with reopening Al-Sharara and Al-Feel oilfields in the south,” Al-Uwami explained.

Israel-Turkish pipeline hinges on Cyprus issue solution - NEW EUROPE

OCTOBER 28, 2016 00:04 
Kostis Geropoulos

Gazprom strives to secure its market in Turkey, fighting against additional Azeri, Iranian, Kurdish or East Mediterranean gas.

ATHENS – The rapprochement between Tel Aviv and Ankara will give fresh impetus to a pipeline from Israel to Turkey, experts told New Europe in Athens on October 25.

During a meeting of Israel’s Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz and his Turkish counterpart Berat Albaryrak at the World Energy Council in Istanbul on October 13, Tel Aviv and Ankara agreed to examine the feasibility of the pipeline.

One Cyprus? - FOREIGN AFFAIRS

October 27, 2016Jonathan Gorvett

A Deal Is Close, But Not Certain

At the end of this month, the island of Cyprus is scheduled to undergo another division, adding to its long history of intercommunal splits. At 4 AM on October 31, the southern, Greek side of the island will set its clocks back by one hour in accordance with European winter time. Yet for the first time ever, on the other side of the UN-patrolled buffer zone dividing the south from the [illegally occupied by Turkey] Turkish-majority north, time will stay the same. There, in the [so-called] Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the breakaway state recognized only by Turkey, clocks will align with those in Ankara instead, following the Turkish government’s recent decision to abolish daylight saving time.

Unwanted: The $10 Billion Gas Deal With Israel That Jordan Needs - BLOOMBERG

October 27, 2016 — 2:01 AM EEST
Donna Abu-Nasr

• Regular street protests held to condemn import agreement
• Jordan shows there’s still resistance to closer economic ties

For one hour every Sunday, Alaa Wishah and his family sit at home in the dark.

The pharmacist in Jordan’s capital of Amman isn’t trying to save money. Wishah, his wife and their three children are joining the protest against a $10 billion energy import agreement with Israel that has revived old animosities in this part of the world.

"Even if the alternatives are harder and more expensive, we don’t want to get gas from the Zionist entity," said Wishah, 40. "It’s not theirs; it belongs to the Palestinians."

What Israel can learn from Norway - GLOBES

27/10/2016, 18:30
Aharon (Orni) Izakson

Norway's experience in managing its oil and gas revenues and building its energy industry should guide Israeli policy makers.
It was reported recently that in an offering of shares and warrants by Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT), Norges Bank, the central bank of Norway, bought shares to the tune of NIS 200 million, and holds 2.6% of the Israeli bank. Norges Bank manages the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, the Government Pension Fund Global, worth some $890 billion, deriving from oil and gas profits. The fund's capital is being kept for a rainy day, such as when Norway's oil and gas reserves are depleted. The Norwegian government is allowed to include in its annual budget up to 4% of the value of the fund's holdings.

Leviathan gas pipeline to Greece would cost $5.7b - GLOBES

27/10/2016, 09:43
Nati Yefet

The EU Commissioner, which financed a feasibility study, has recognized the pipeline as a Project of Common Interest.

A feasibility study conducted by IGI-Poseidon, which was commissioned by the EU Commissioner, has found that laying a natural gas pipeline from the Leviathan offshore gas field via Cyprus to Greece would cost about $5.7 billion. This was reported by the Ministry of Natural Infrastructures, Energy and Water Resources director general Shaul Meridor who met in Athens with his counterparts from Greece, Cyprus and Italy and a senior official from the EU Energy Commission.

All the participants in the meeting expressed support for the project and decided to continue moving ahead with it, despite the major complexity of laying such a pipeline in deep waters. The pipeline would convey natural gas from fields in both Israel and Cyprus and potential discoveries in Greece's economic waters. The EU has recognized the project as a Project of Common Interest (PCI) and consequently financed the feasibility study.

Energy Minister Albayrak suggests East Mediterranean gas may serve as a positive alternative - DAILY SABAH / ANADOLU AGENCY

27.10.2016

Turkey considers East Mediterrinean natural gas as a positive alternative tool to bring peace to its region and to ensure energy supply security, the country's Energy Minister Albayrak says

Recalling that East Mediterrinean natural gas has been on Turkey's agenda for a long while, Albayrak said they discussed this issue with the Israeli minister at the 23rd World Energy Congress. Turkey and Israel have agreed to establish a mutual energy dialogue, further strengthening ties between the countries following a six-year pause in relations, Israeli Energy and Water Resources Minister Yuval Steinitz said during the congress.

Greece Says Total-Led Group Preferred Bidder To Drill For Offshore Gas - OIL PRICE

Oct 26, 2016, 2:13 PM CDTTsvetana Paraskova
Greece said on Wednesday that it is naming a consortium led by France’s Total SA (NYSE:TOT) and comprised of Italy’s Edison and Greece’s largest refiner, Hellenic Petroleum, as the preferred bidder to drill for gas in an offshore block in the Ionian Sea west of the country.

Back in February of this year, a Hellenic Petroleum official said that Total, Hellenic Petroleum and Edison had filed a joint financial bid for block 2 in the Ionian Sea, Reuters reported back at the time.

According to Greece’s energy ministry’s statement today, a committee that has been reviewing the bids will invite the Total-led consortium to finalize the deal.

Atwood Advantage starts Tamar Drilling - NATURAL GAS WORLD

October 26th, 2016 8:45amYa'acov Zalel

The drilling ship Atwood Advantage has arrived at Israeli waters has started drilling in Tamar, 100 km offshore. It is the first drilling ship in Israeli waters in three years and its first assignment is the Tamar 8 well which will supply gas to the Israeli domestic market. The drilling is expected to last four months and the investment is estimated at $265mn. When the drilling is completed the vessel might move over to drill Leviathan 5.

However, Leviathan is still awaiting the final investment decision (FID). It has only one big customer, the Jordanian national power company Nepco, which signed a long-term contract to purchase up to 3bn m³/yr for 15 years. Noble Energy, Leviathan's operator said a FID is expected by the end of the year. Experts said that in order to get a positive FID the partners need such agreements to exceed 6bn m³/yr.

Egypt: Eni to add 80Mmcfpd of gas from the Nooros field by the end of November - ECOFIN AGENCY

Wednesday, 26 October 2016 - 12:59Anita Fatunji

(Ecofin Agency) - In Egypt, Eni plans to add 80Mmcfpd of gas from its Nooros concession to the national grid by the end of November 2016.

According to a source with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), the total gas production from Nooros is set to increase from 850Mmcfpd to 930Mmcfpd by the end of November. This is to occur after the drilling of a number of development wells and adding them to the project’s production, Egypt Oil &Gas reports.

Connecting these wells to the national gas grid will help fill the natural decrease gap in local gas production, which is estimated at 600Mmcf each year with an average of around 50Mmcf per month.

Russia needs EU guarantees to extend Turkish Stream to Europe - RUSSIA TODAY

Published time: 25 Oct, 2016 14:30

Moscow has become more wary about doing gas deals with Brussels after the EU blocked Russia's South Stream pipeline, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"After the failure of South Stream, we will be ready to extend Turkish Stream to the territory of the European Union only after we received an unambiguous formal paper that guarantees the implementation of this project," Lavrov said on Tuesday, speaking to European businessmen in Moscow.

Lavrov stressed that, according to experts, "in the foreseeable future it will be very difficult for EU countries to live without Russian energy resources.”

An agreement to build the Turkish Stream pipeline was reached in December 2014. It was assumed the pipeline would replace South Stream that had been blocked by the EU.

EP: Development of gas resources in Cyprus should be actively pursued - FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE / CNA

The MEPs call for the prioritisation of gas production in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Caspian regions, as well as for interconnecting landlocked countries in Central and South-East Europe to these new capacities in order to diversify supply sources in those regions.
FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE CYPRUS•
Tuesday, 25 October, 2016

The development of the domestic conventional gas resources discovered in Cyprus should be actively pursued, a resolution adopted on Tuesday by the European Parliament in its plenary session, in Strasbourg, stresses.

The resolution further notes that new LNG capacity being developed in the Mediterranean could form the basis of an infrastructure hub.

The MEPs call for the prioritisation of gas production in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Caspian regions, as well as for interconnecting landlocked countries in Central and South-East Europe to these new capacities in order to diversify supply sources in those regions.

Israeli, Cypriot officials to meet for natural gas talks - ISRAEL HAYOM

Tuesday October 25, 2016Hezi Sternlicht

• Senior officials from energy ministries to try to finalize agreement on the development of shared gas fields Aphrodite and Yishai 

• Israeli official to fly to Athens on Thursday to discuss the building of tripartite pipeline to export gas from Israel.

Senior energy officials from Israel and Cyprus were scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss the development of two natural gas fields, Aphrodite and Yishai, which lie on the maritime border between the two nations.

Shaul Meridor, the director general of Israel's National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Ministry, was to meet with his Cypriot counterpart, Stelios D. Himonas, the permanent secretary of Cyprus' Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism Ministry. The meeting is the latest effort to finalize an agreement that would pave the way for joint projects on those fields.

Egypt: No confirmation yet on whether Saudi oil aid will resume in November – El-Molla - ECOFIN AGENCY

Tuesday, 25 October 2016 - 13:01Anita Fatunji

(Ecofin Agency) - Egyptian Oil Minister, Tarek El-Molla (photo), on Tuesday revealed that no confirmation has been received yet as regards when Saudi Arabia’s will recommence the supply of petroleum to the country.

This is coming after supplies were postponed at the beginning of this month.

“The contract is in effect for five years so whether it's interrupted for a week or a month or two or three the contract is in effect and still on,” El-Molla said adding that there was no confirmation about whether or not the aid would resume next month.

In March, Saudi Arabia agreed to provide Egypt with 700,000 tonnes of refined oil products per month for five years under a $23 billion deal signed between Saudi Aramco and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) but Egypt stopped receiving its aid some weeks ago, Reuters reports.

The spokesman for the Egyptian Oil Ministry, Hamdy Abdel-Aziz, on October 10, 2016, said that, Aramco officially informed Cairo that the agreed oil products for October will not be supplied. He stated that the reason might be technical or logistical stressing that the Saudi company did not cancel the $23 billion deal.

Gas helps to warm Russia, Turkey relations after tumultuous 12 months - PLATTS

October 25, 2016 05:01 UTC

Moving toward the brink of war is about as serious as a geopolitical relationship can get — and that is where Moscow and Ankara found themselves after NATO member Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet on the border with Syria on November 24 last year.

Diplomatic efforts succeeded in calming the immediate tensions, but nonetheless Moscow’s reaction was a pledge to “seriously reevaluate” its relationship with Ankara.

As well as a raft of economic sanctions, part of the geopolitical rhetoric was a move by the Kremlin to halt all talks around the already complex negotiation process on the planned TurkStream gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey under the Black Sea.

The link — originally intended as a 63 Bcm/year South Stream replacement — had already been downgraded to a two-line 31.5 Bcm/year project, and talks were becoming increasingly protracted as Ankara insisted the pipeline’s realization be linked to a gas discount on Russian gas imports.

Petrobel lets contract for Zohr gas processing plant - OIL & GAS JOURNAL

HOUSTON, Oct. 24
10/24/2016
By Robert Brelsford
OGJ Downstream Technology Editor

Belayim Petroleum Co. (Petrobel), a joint venture of wholly owned Eni SPA subsidiary IEOC Production BV and Egyptian General Petroleum Corp., has let a contract to a division of Siemens AG to provide processing equipment for a gas plant connected to the first-phase development of deepwater Zohr natural gas field on the the Shorouk block offshore Egypt (OGJ, Sept. 7, 2015, p. 60).

Siemens Power & Gas’ Dresser-Rand business will deliver three of its proprietary SGT-400 industrial gas turbines, including associated electrical generators, to supply electric power to a gas plant currently under construction in Egypt dedicated to processing natural gas production from Zohr field, Siemens said.

Total’s plans in limbo after logistics contract blunder, ENI, Noble hint at logistics move abroad - CYPRUS MAIL

October 24th, 2016

ENERGY giant Total’s plans to explore for hydrocarbons offshore Cyprus are stuck in limbo, while ENI and Noble Energy are intimating they are considering moving their onshore logistics base to Egypt and Israel, respectively, unless they are able to continue operating out of the port of Larnaca.

In early October, Total and EDT offshore, an oil and gas services company, signed a contract where the latter would provide the former onshore logistics services out of the port of Limassol supporting Total’s drilling programme.

Amid much fanfare at the signing ceremony – attended by energy minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis and transport minister Marios Demetriades – Total announced they were poised to drill their first exploratory well in Block 11 of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone, in April 2017.

Egypt launches record LNG tender for 96 cargoes -trade - REUTERS

Mon Oct 24, 2016 | 10:58am BST

By Oleg Vukmanovic, Editing by Susan Fenton and Jason Neely

Egypt launched the world's biggest tender for liquefied natural gas (LNG) on Sunday as officials from top energy companies and trading houses converged on Cairo undeterred by new rules forcing them to wait even longer to get paid.

After months of speculation and delay, state-run Egypt Natural Gas Holding (EGAS) released tender documents on Sunday bidding to secure 96 LNG shipments in 2017 and 2018, participants in the tender told Reuters.

An additional 12 optional cargoes were included in the tender, which EGAS may decide not to award, they said.

It is the biggest mid-term LNG buy tender ever issued, trade sources said.

Cyprus funding, budget, natural gas, EC and Turkey on agenda of EP plenary - FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE / CNA

Monday, 24 October, 2016

The plenary session of the European Parliament, that convenes this week in Strasbourg, is expected to vote on prolonging top-up in EU funding for projects in Cyprus.

The members of the European Parliament are expected to vote on Tuesday on a special provision whereby the EU would pay up to 85% of project costs in Cyprus until the closure of the 2014-2020 programmes.

They will also vote on plans to prolong a 10% increase in the EU contribution towards project costs in Greece until 30 June of the year following the end of its economic adjustment programme.

Dresser-Rand to deliver turbine-generator sets for Zohr offshore Egypt - OFFSHORE MAG

24/10/2016
Offshore staff

MUNICH, Germany – Belayim Petroleum Co. (Petrobel) has ordered three model SGT-400 industrial gas turbines and associated electrical generators from Siemens’ Dresser-Rand business.

Petrobel, a joint venture between Eni and Egypt’s General Petroleum Corp. (EGPC), is developing the Zohr gas field offshore Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea.

The order scope also encompasses a service package that includes spare parts supply and on-site maintenance. The turbine-generator sets are slated for delivery in early 2017.

Christopher Rossi, CEO of the Dresser-Rand business, said: “Following the major billion-euro power plant order Siemens secured from Egypt last June, our power generation technology will further support the nation’s efforts to grow its economy and expand its reliable energy supply.

Egypt chases own energy sources as government struggle to meet demand - REUTERS

Sun Oct 23, 2016 | 10:43am EDTWriting by Eric Knecht, Editing by Lin Noueihed/Ruth Pitchford

By Ehab Farouk | CAIRO

Egypt will boost production of natural gas to 5 billion cubic feet per day in the 2017-2018 fiscal year as the giant Zohr field comes online, but will still also ramp up gas imports to feed a spike in consumption, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla said.

Once an energy exporter, Egypt has turned into a net importer in recent years, squeezed by declining production and increasing consumption. The shortfall and squeezed finances have forced the government to ration gas supplies to industry, with some plants unable to operate at full capacity as a result.

Egypt's Oil Ministry is racing to reverse that trend, speeding up the development of major gas discoveries with a stated goal of achieving energy self-sufficiency by 2020-21.

Cyprus and Egypt in for the long haul - IN CYPRUS / CYPRUS WEEKLY

October 23, 2016

Cyprus and Egypt will definitely implement an interstate agreement providing for natural gas from the island’s Aphrodite field to be sold to neighbouring Cairo whose domestic needs are vast.

But an ambitious pipeline project linking the two neighbouring countries as well as Greece could end up being just a ‘trilateral’ dream, informed sources told the Cyprus Weekly.

“Cyprus and Egypt will definitely cooperate on the sale of gas, that’s a given. The interstate agreement has been signed and it is going to be implemented, the Egyptian President will be visiting Nicosia in April-May for the final touches,” the insider said.

An energy union - IN CYPRUS / CYPRUS WEEKLY

October 22, 2016
By Charles Ellinas

Israel and Turkey agreed last week to open discussions and examine building a gas pipeline to pump Israeli gas from Leviathan to Turkey and from there to Europe.

The meeting last week between Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz and Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak in Istanbul, was the highest-level official meeting since the two countries normalised ties in June. The process to normalise relations was strongly backed by the US.

The crisis between the two countries erupted after Israel stormed a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship, the Mavi-Marmara, in 2010. Until that time, Turkey had been Israel’s key ally in the Muslim world.

In June this year the two countries finally agreed to normalise their relationship, with the return of their Ambassadors to their posts later in the year.

Greece and FYROM to study gas interconnector option - NATURAL GAS WORLD

October 21st, 2016, 3:20pm, by Kama Mustafayeva 

Greece gas grid operator DESFA and state-owned Former Yugoslav Republic's Macedonian Energy Resources (FYR MER) signed a memorandum of understanding to build a 160-km interconnector linking Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on October 17 in the capital Skopje.

The companies will prepare feasibility study for the line that starts in Nea Mesimvria in northern Greece and ends in Stip. The MoU was signed by DESFA CEO Sotiris Nikas and his counterpart at FYR MER, Krste Miladinov.

The line will connect FYROM to the TransAdriatic pipeline (TAP) now being built, and other prospective nearby gas corridors such as Turkish Stream. It will also provide the Former Yugoslav Republic with direct LNG supply from Greece’s terminal in Revithoussa off Athens, Miladinov said at the signing ceremony.

Israel to examine building GTL plant - NATURAL GAS WORLD

October 20th, 2016, 12:10pm, by Ya'acov Zalel

Israel's energy ministry is exploring the option of building a gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in Israel. The ministry said that it will assist entrepreneurs to explore that option and consider what the consequences would be for the country's energy sector.

Two years ago the ministry published a request for information for GTL in order to reduce dependence on oil in transport. In 2011 the government set a target of reducing oil consumption by 60% by 2025.

"We are working towards widening the Israeli natural gas market," the ministry director general, Sahul Meridor said in a statement. "Innovative technology of liquid fuel production from natural gas will enable the use of gas in other sectors of the economy and to increase demand for natural gas."

Turkish Stream: The Cost of Russia’s Stubbornness - CARNEGIE MOSCOW CENTER

20.10.2016,
By Mikhail Krutikhin

Unlike Russian gas pumped via Ukraine and Germany, that flowing through Turkey will face tough competition from Azerbaijani, Iranian, Iraqi, and possibly even Turkmen and Israeli gas. Gazprom’s rivals won’t need to ship their gas as far, and they will have much lower pipeline construction costs. The gas market in southeastern Europe is not that big and doesn’t have a lot of room for growth.

Not so long ago, Turkey was on the Kremlin’s list of adversaries following the NATO member’s shooting down of a Russian fighter jet over the Syria-Turkey border. Now Russia is effectively relinquishing control over its southward gas export to Turkey. This is the extent to which the Kremlin is prepared to go to punish disobedient Ukraine—but it will come at a cost to Russia.

Floating LNG terminal to ease energy supply in Turkey’s industrial base - DAILY SABAH

20.10.2016

The floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal off of the Yalova province coast in Turkey's Marmara region is expected to ease the energy supply for the region, which hosts over a quarter of the country's population and industry.

According to an article in Turkish business daily Dünya, a company named Maks Enerji has applied to the Energy Market Regulatory Board (EMRB) to obtain a license to operate a Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) that will be located on the southern shores of the Gulf of Izmit in the district of Altınova.