Oil pipeline agreement with Iraq, Jordan should be implemented: former minister - EGYPT INDEPENDENT

Sat, 12/03/2016, Al-Masry Al-Youm

Former Petroleum Minister Osama Kamal has praised plans to build a two-way oil pipeline linking Egypt to Iraq via Jordan, carrying high-quality Iraqi crude to Egypt's refineries.

During an interview on al-Ghad television news channel on Thursday evening, Kamal said that the project, which is still under discussion, would give Egypt access to Iraqi crude, which is among the best in the world.

Late last year, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Iraq, Egypt and Jordan to construct the pipeline, and further discussions were held on Thursday between the oil ministers of the three nations.

The deal would include pumping 1 million barrels per month of Iraqi crude oil through the pipeline, according to Kamal. He pointed out that Iraq's crude oil production is up to 5 million barrels a month, most of which is exported.

Israel-Jordan gas pipeline to begin operating in 2017 - THE JERUSALEM POST / GLOBES

By HEDY COHEN/GLOBES, 03/11/2016

Israel Natural Gas Lines CEO Samuel Tordjman says pipeline in Dead Sea area will be operational next year.

The first natural gas pipeline to Jordan is scheduled to begin operating in 2017, Israel Natural Gas Lines CEO Samuel Tordjman announced Thursday. The pipeline, currently being constructed in the Sdom area by the Dead Sea, will supply gas from the Tamar reservoir to private customers in Jordan. A second pipeline to be built in the Beit Shean area is due to supply gas from the Leviathan reservoir to the Jordanian National Electric Power Company (NEPCO).

In February, the Tamar partners signed a letter of intent with private customers in Jordan to supply 1.8 BCM over 10 years. In September 2014, the Leviathan partners also signed a letter of intent to supply 45 BCM of gas to NEPCO over 15 years; the value of the contract is estimated at over $15 billion. The discussions of the gas plan in Israel, however, which have been taking place for a year, have stalled the negotiations between the two countries.

Eni succeeds with the first production test of Zohr field - ENI

10/03/2016

Eni successfully performed the production test of Zohr 2X, first appraisal well of Zohr discovery, which is estimated in a deliverability of up to 250 MMScfd in production configuration.

San Donato Milanese (Mi), 10 March 2016 - Eni successfully performed the production test of Zohr 2X, first appraisal well of Zohr discovery, in the Shorouk block, offshore Egypt.

During the test, 120 m of the reservoir were opened to production. The well, constrained by surface facilities, delivered up to 44 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMscfd). The comprehensive set of data collected and analyzed have proved that the well has a great production capacity, which is estimated in a deliverability of up to 250 MMScfd in production configuration (about 46 thousand barrel of oil equivalent per day).

Beware False Hopes in the East Med - NATURAL GAS EUROPE

March 09th, 2016

The Eastern Mediterranean contains a cluster of proven gas fields that are capable of contributing significantly to both national and regional energy security. But there is a very real danger that the peoples of all three countries that have so far discovered gas in their waters -- Egypt, Israel and Cyprus -- may suffer from false expectations.

In Israel, there is a need to explain the paradox that export-led development is necessary if the giant Leviathan field is to be harnessed for domestic use as well; in Egypt, it concerns the government's desire to eliminate domestic price subsidies at the same time as the country's biggest gas discovery is due to come on stream; in Cyprus, it's about the contrast between finding a relatively modest field, Aphrodite, and officially-raised hopes that Cyprus may be able to replicate discoveries on the scale of Egypt's Zohr or Israel's Leviathan and the role this could play in furthering a settlement to the island's 40-year-old partition.

Orascom Construction signs $20m contract for West Nile Delta gas project - DAILY NEWS EGYPT / ENERGY EGYPT

March 9, 2016

National Steel Fabrication, a subsidiary of Orascom Construction (OC), was awarded a $20m contract to manufacture and supply structural steel for the West Nile Delta gas development project.

“We [OC] are also pleased to receive a large order to fabricate and supply the steel structure for an important gas development in Egypt, and look forward to further participating in this sector through our construction group and NSF,” he added.

In January, the company signed contracts to covert two power plants, in Assiut and West Damietta, from simple cycle to combined cycle.

The capacity factor of the Assiut power plant is 1,000 MW, while West Damietta’s capacity factor is 500 MW. Converting the plants will increase their combined capacity factor by 50%, to reach 2,250 MW. OC stands to earn a reported $420m in the deal.

Egypt SUMED Pipeline Yet to Accept Iran Oil After Sanctions - BLOOMBERG / ENERGY EGYPT

March 8, 2016

Egypt and Gulf Arab crude producers have yet to let Saudi Arabia’s regional rival Iran resume oil shipments through a pipeline they operate to supply customers in Europe and the Mediterranean Sea region, more than a month after international sanctions against Iran were lifted.

Arab Petroleum Pipelines Co., which operates the link known as SUMED, is still reviewing terms of the agreement that removed sanctions on Iran in January, according to a company official. The operator is seeking to ensure Iran complies with sanctions regulations before resuming oil shipments halted since August 2012, said the official, who asked not to be identified, citing company policy.

Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. owns 50 percent of SUMED, which connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean. State-run Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Aramco, owns 15 percent of the link; International Petroleum Investment Co. of the United Arab Emirates, 15 percent; three Kuwaiti companies, 15 percent; and Qatar Petroleum, 5 percent, according to SUMED’s official website.

Hopes of Larnaca port vote dashed as irate councillors walk out of meeting - CYPRUS MAIL

MARCH 8TH, 2016 Andria Kades

Larnaca mayor Andreas Louroutziatis extended an invitation to ENI, Noble and Total to operate out of the city’s port on Monday night, flying in the face of AKEL, DIKO, EDEK and Citizens Alliance councillors who stormed out of the session after the council failed to reach a decision to vote.

Louroutziatis and DISY councillors pleaded with them not to, asking them to stay and discuss the company requests.

The marathon meeting, which wrapped up shortly before midnight was punctuated by fighting and shouting matches, between councillors themselves, but also the loud yells of logistics company MedServ employees. According to state radio, workers joined forces with the Nicosia Chamber of Commerce in a bid to force decision makers to approve an extension which would allowing the logistics company offering support services to energy giants to stay in Larnaca.

Egypt’s Ethydco finishes 97% of its $1.9bn ethylene complex - ENERGY EGYPT / THOMSON REUTERS ZAWYA

March 7, 2016

Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (Ethydco) has finished 97.2 percent of its petrochemicals complex, Chairman Abd El-Rahman Zeid announced Saturday. The total investment cost of the project is estimated at US$1.9 billion.

He made these remarks in his speech during the visit of Petroleum Minister Tarek El-Molla’s visit to the complex.

The complex encompass four projects: a project for producing ethylene with the capacity of 460,000 tonnes per year and another project for producing polyethylene with the capacity of 400,000 tonnes annually.

The complex also includes a project for producing butadiene with the capacity of 20,000 tonnes annually and other project for to produce 26,000 tonnes of butadiene derivatives per year.

Egypt's EGAS makes first LNG payments for year -sources - REUTERS

Mon Mar 7, 2016

• First payments since terms extended to 90 days-sources
• Traders estimate EGAS owes $1 billion to LNG suppliers

By Sarah McFarlane and Oleg Vukmanovic

LONDON/MILAN, March 7 Egypt's state-owned EGAS has made its first payments to liquefied natural gas (LNG) suppliers since payment terms for deliveries were extended, trade sources said.

Egypt imports around six to eight cargoes of LNG per month and traders said that until last week EGAS had not paid suppliers since December when it extended payment terms to 90 days from the usual 15 days, due to the country's foreign currency crisis.

EGAS head Khaled Abdel Badie told Reuters his company has made all payments that were due on LNG shipments but did not specify whether these were the first payments this year.