EGAS decreases gas imports to 650m cubic feet per day - DAILY NEWS EGYPT

LNG shipment will arrive to Sokhna Port to connect to national gas grid, says official

Mohamed Adel February 13, 2016

The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) decreased the volume of imported gas by approximately 650m cubic feet per day compared to 700m feet in January.

The decline was a result of the decline of gross domestic consumption of natural gas, according to a senior official in EGAS.

The capacity of the two gas ships that facilitate the transport of gas is estimated at 1.2bn cubic feet per day.

OMV prepares to sell Turkish subsidiary - OIL & GAS JOURNAL

HOUSTON, 02/12/2016
By OGJ editors

OMV AG is selecting advisors to assist with the sale of part or all of OMV Petrol Ofisi AS, a wholly owned wholesale and retail oil-products distributor in Turkey.

The subsidiary, with 1,785 fuel stations, has the largest retail network in the country, along with extensive storage and logistics assets. It sold about 10 million tonnes of oil products last year.

OMV is focusing on upstream and integrated downstream businesses.

British businesses must be partners of choice for Egypt’s energy future: Donaldson - DAILY NEWS EGYPT

British Gas and British Petroleum have together invested almost $40bn in developing Egypt’s energy sector

Daily News Egypt, 12/2/2016

MP Jeffrey Donaldson, Prime Minister David Cameron’s trade envoy to Egypt, will meet Thursday with Minister of Petroleum Tarek Al-Molla to discuss British investments and future opportunities in Egypt’s energy sector.

Donaldson and Al-Molla will be joined by a number of leading British energy companies, including major long-term investors such as Brit Petroleum and British Gas as well as experts in industry supply chain services.

Oil traders look again at floating storage as onshore tanks fill - ENERGY VOICE / BLOOMBERG

Written by Bloomberg - 11/02/2016

The world is so awash with crude, the boss of BP Plc said people will be filling their “swimming pools” with it by the end of the year.

While the company’s Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley bemoaned this bearish outlook for oil, traders were eyeing a potentially profitable opportunity: turning supertankers into temporary floating storage facilities.

Trading houses including Vitol Group, Koch Supply & Trading LP and Glencore Plc, plus the in-house trading arms of BP and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, collectively made billions of dollars from 2008 to 2009 stockpiling crude at sea. At the peak of the floating storage spree, sheltered anchorages in the North Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Singapore Strait and off South Africa each hosted dozens of supertankers.

Chris Bake, a senior executive at Vitol, the world’s largest independent oil trader, gave the clearest indication yet this week that traders are considering the same strategy again.

“Primary and secondary storage is pretty much full,” Bake said in London Wednesday. “It’s probably a good time to be a vessel owner.”

The OECD is also calling on Israel to implement the gas framework - JERUSALEM POST

Israel Navy missile ship patrols near Tamar gas field‏
(photo credit:MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

The organization notes that delaying development of the Leviathan reservoir will lead to a slowdown in development of the smaller gas fields and deter continued exploration.
Last week the OECD published a special report that included the anticipated response to a slew of economic characteristics, such as stability and growth, poverty levels, social gaps, and so on. Under the heading “creating the right conditions for developing an efficient gas market,” the OECD recommends implementing the gas framework drawn up by the government, in order to “guarantee development of the Leviathan reservoir and the development of the infrastructures required in order to create future competition in the gas market.” In other words, the OECD, an organization external to the state, agrees with the government’s actions in connection with the gas framework.

Eni to complete second well in Zohr field by April for $100m - DAILY NEWS EGYPT

The Italian company is drilling six wells in Zohr in deep waters this year, says official

Mohamed Adel, February 10, 2016

The Italian Eni will finish drilling the second well in the Zohr field in the Shorouk concession area located in the deep waters of the Mediterranean by the next April, with a cost of approximately $100m.

A prominent official at the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), who requested to remain anonymous, said the company aims to complete the drilling of six wells in the Shorouk concession area in 2016.

Eni agreed with the Ministry of Petroleum to start production from the Zohr field in 2017 with amounts reaching 1bn cubic feet of gas daily. The official said the agreement includes increasing the production from the concession area to 2.7bn cubic feet of gas daily in 2019.

Egypt may not meet 2016 target to pay back oil arrears – PM - ENERGY EGYPT / GULF NEWS

February 10, 2016

Lower oil and gas revenues mean the debt will ‘at least [be reduced] to a very reasonable’ level by end of year, Prime Minister Ismail says.

Egypt may miss its target of repaying the $3 billion it owes to foreign oil and gas companies by the end of 2016, the Egyptian Prime Minister said on Tuesday.

Sherif Ismail told reporters in Dubai lower oil and gas revenues mean the debt will “at least [be reduced] to a very reasonable” level by the end of year.

This would not be the first time the government has pushed backed the deadline. It previously said it would repay its arrears by mid-2015, then it said by mid-2016 before again pushing the target back to the end of the year.

Cyprus Drops Interim Gas Import Plan - NATURAL GAS EUROPE

February 10th, 2016

Cyprus’ attempts to import gas as an interim solution until Aphrodite comes on line have come to a dead end. This was decided at a meeting at the presidential palace February 7. The key participants at the meeting were the energy minister, the regulator Cera, the gas company Defa and the electricity company EAC.

The government rejected as unfavorable the proposal of the Dutch company Vitol. It said Vitol wanted to sell about a quarter more than the originally proposed quantities. This would benefit Vitol, but could increase Cyprus’ risk of being left with quantities of gas it could not use, in a "take-or-pay" contract. Moreover, there could be a risk that losers would argue that the rules of the tender had changed, benefiting Vitol.

In any case, it is understood that Defa’s tender evaluation did not demonstrate any benefits to Cyprus. This is because the low oil price would negate any savings in the production of electricity from gas.

An opportunity lost: the case of Larnaca port - CYPRUS MAIL

February 9th, 2016, By Reginos Tsanos

The global economy is in turmoil. Large economies are teetering on the brink of collapse. There is volatility across all markets and sectors. The world has borne witness to billions of dollars’ worth of assets and securities being wiped out in just a single day of trading. The Eastern Mediterranean, once a haven for cruise liners, is now a station for warships and aircraft carriers patrolling trouble spots in Syria, Lebanon, and Libya.

Cyprus has been through its own troubles as well. The events that unfolded in March 2013 shook the foundations of everything that was built, particularly in the post-1974 era. But as the government readily informs us that we are ready to exit our economic stability programme, and return the country to growth, there are some events that point worryingly to the fact that we have failed to heed the lessons of the past.

Cyprus cancels Leviathan tender - GLOBES

09/02/2016, Globes correspondent

Gas Public Company (DEFA) has been unable to reach any agreement to buy gas from the Leviathan field.

The Leviathan partners notified the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) today that the Cypriot Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA) had cancelled its gas supply tender from the leviathan gas field. The Leviathan partners reported that they were unable to reach agreement with the Cypriot government on the terms for the tender for supplying gas. The partners also reported that they are still talking to the Cypriot government about supplying gas from Cyprus's Aphrodite field. The Leviathan partners are Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) (39.66%) of Leviathan, Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) units Avner Oil and Gas LP (TASE: AVNR.L) and Delek Drilling LP (TASE: DEDR.L) each own 22.67% and Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP (TASE:RATI.L) owns 15%. Noble and Delek's units also own most of the Aphrodite field.

Following the notification share prices in the Leviathan partners fell sharply.

SDX Energy Hits Oil Pay in Egypt - E&P

Monday, February 8, 2016

The Al Amir SE 23 (AASE-23) development well in North West Gemsa in Egypt has encountered oil-bearing reservoir sections in the Kareem Rahmi and Shagar formations and will be completed as a producer in the Shagar, according to SDX Energy Inc.

The well was drilled to a depth of 3,018 m (9,900 ft) where both the Shagar and Rahmi oil reservoirs were encountered. Log analysis indicates 7 m (23 ft) of net Shagar oil pay and 9 m (28 ft) of net Rahmi oil pay, the release said. The well has been completed as an oil producer in the Shagar and has flowed on test light 42.2 degree API oil at a rate of 3,860 barrels of oil per day (bbl/d) with 2.55 million standard cubic feet of associated gas per day (MMscf/d).

The well will be placed in production in the coming days as soon as the completion rig has moved off location, the release said.

Recent Mediterranean discoveries revive interest in exploration - ALEM & ASSOCIATES

February 08 2016

Introduction

Recent discoveries in the eastern Mediterranean Sea – in particular, the major Zohr Field in Egypt, with estimated gas reserves of 30 trillion cubic feet (equivalent to 5.5 billion barrels of oil) – may constitute the world's largest natural gas find, according to Italian multinational Eni. Cyprus and Israel have also made significant discoveries in the past year, such as:

• the Tamar Field, containing proven reserves of 7.1 trillion cubic feet;
• the South Field, containing 81 billion cubic feet;
• the Tanin Field, with 1.1 trillion cubic feet; and
• the Aphrodite Field, with an estimated 7 trillion cubic feet.

Meanwhile, Delek and Noble Energy have partnered to explore the huge Leviathan Field, with an estimated 22 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, as well as the Tamar Field. These discoveries will transform the eastern Mediterranean into a major energy hub.

Turkey's Rising Natural Gas Demand Needs U.S. LNG - FORBES

Turkey’s Natural Gas Imports are Surging, Sources: EIA; JTC

FEB 7, 2016
Jude Clemente , CONTRIBUTOR

The ongoing tension between Turkey and Russia makes Turkey’s dependence on foreign energy perhaps the country’s biggest concern. And this begins with natural gas, which passed oil in 2012 to become Turkey’s main source of energy. Turkey imports 99% of its gas, and Russia pipes in nearly 60% of Turkey’s total gas use.

Turkey is the second largest consumer of Russian gas and paid Gazprom some $10 billion last year. Iran supplies 20% of Turkey’s gas and Azerbaijan 10%, all via pipeline. LNG, mainly from two countries (Algeria and Nigeria), supplies about 13% of the country’s gas. As an OECD Member, and thus a member of the IEA, Turkey has been advised to diversify away from Russian gas, and Russia may also be looking elsewhere (e.g., China, India) in its response to the downing of its warplane by Turkey in November.

‘Tripartite’ gas would be double the price, experts say - CYPRUS MAIL

February 7th, 2016, By Elias Hazou

Despite being talked up by the leaders of Cyprus, Greece and Israel at the recent tripartite confab in Nicosia, the proposed East Med gas pipeline project remains commercially unrealistic, an energy expert has told the Sunday Mail.

The East Med pipeline aims to connect the region’s reservoirs with Greece through the island of Crete.

But for all the hype, also propagated by the press here, the pipeline makes little economic sense, said Charles Ellinas, CEO of e-CNHC (ECP Natural Hydrocarbons Company).

“Both the East Med pipeline as well as the Euro-Asia Interconnector are highly challenged projects,” he observed.

Israel mulling twin gas pipelines to Turkey, Greece - TIMES OF ISRAEL

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz attends a Likud faction meeting
at the Knesset on July 27, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

BY AFP February 7, 2016
Energy minister says export project could come to fruition ‘if things improve’ with Ankara amid ongoing feud

Israel is looking to exploit its substantial natural gas reserves with two potential pipeline projects to Turkey and Greece, its Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz announced Sunday.

“If things improve with Turkey… gas could both be sold to Turkey, and to Greece via Turkey,” Steinitz told Kathimerini daily.

Israel and Turkey have reportedly been working on a rapprochement after falling out over the storming by Israeli commandos in 2010 of a Turkish flotilla to Gaza.

EBRD: $341 million loan to upgrade Egypt’s oil and gas infrastructure - ENERGY EGYPT / EBRD

Tanker Ship Application & Tank Farm Terminal

February 7, 2016

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD): The funds will be used to construct and operate a bulk-liquids terminal.

A US$ 341 million facility to Sonker, an Egyptian company providing hydrocarbon storage and bunkering, will support a significant upgrade of the country’s oil and gas infrastructure and will contribute to the energy security of Egypt.

As part of a consortium, the EBRD is extending a US$ 72 million senior loan and a US$ 22 million mezzanine loan to the company, while the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a US$ 70 million senior loan along with a US$ 22 million mezzanine loan and mobilising US$52.5 million from other investors. In addition, the Commercial International Bank (CIB) of Egypt, the country’s largest private-sector bank, is availing with US$ 28 million and the equivalent of US$ 44 million in Egyptian pounds loan as well as a US$ 30 million Credit Support Instrument Facility.