Amid crisis, Greece gains a critical ally: Israel - JERUSALEM POST

Israeli PM Netanyahu (R), Greek PM Tsipras (L) and Cyprus President
Anastasiades in a trilateral summit. (photo: KOBY GIDEON/GPO)

01/07/2017 20:42

George N. Tzogopoulos

Important as it is, energy does not alone constitute the only field of joint interest. What matters perhaps more is the strategic nature of collaboration between Greece, Israel and also Cyprus.

In difficult economic times Greece is endeavoring to shape its foreign policy with relatively low budgets.

Although cuts in the defense sector have a negative impact, a careful and smart strategy in parallel with some favorable circumstances can counterbalance losses and possibly yield more positive results. It is here where the Greek-Israeli partnership deserves particular attention.

Spud of New Exploration Well – Offshore, Libya - NATIONAL OIL CORP. LIBYA

07.1.2017, NOC Libya

On the 4th of January 2017, Eni North Africa (Eni-NA) has spud its exploration well B1-16/3 in Contract Area “D” (NC41), offshore Libya. The Area was granted to Eni-NA under EPSA IV contract model signed between the company and Libya National Oil Corporation (NOC) in 12 of June 2008.

The Exploration well will be drilled in a water depth of 518 feet (156 meter) and it is located about 140 kilometer North - West of Tripoli and 5 Kilometer North of Bahr Essalam Gas Field. The estimated total depth of this well is ( 9865 feet). The main objective of this well is to test the Metlaoui group reservoir and the drilling is expected to be completed in 64 days from the spud date.

Aphrodite flirts with Cairo - IN CYPRUS / CYPRUS WEEKLY

January 7, 2017
Lefteris Adilinis

The government will try hard to get a deal for selling gas from Cyprus’ Aphrodite field to Egypt in 2017 but finds the prospect somewhat distant because oil prices are expected to remain high for the foreseeable future.

In the second part of his interview to the Cyprus Weekly, Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism minister, George Lakkotrypis makes it clear that, realistically, Egypt’s market is the only option for the confirmed Cypriot gas well.

The minister also mentioned the EU’s expressed interest in financing a feasibility study for the so-called East Med pipeline carrying Israeli and possibly Cypriot gas to Greece, Italy and from there to the rest of Europe.

Representatives from the four countries involved meet regularly to discuss the project, although energy analysts do not hold their breath in anticipation.

Turkey's energy watchdog imposes cap on power prices - REUTERS

Friday, 6 January 2017 12:32 GMTReporting by Orhan Coskun and Akin Aytekin; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Daren Butler; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle

• EPDK sets price cap at 500 lira per MWh
• Energy minister says extra measures taken on infrastructure
• Gas flows from Iran continue, albeit below full capacity (Adds energy minister quotes, background)

ANKARA, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Turkey's energy watchdog EPDK imposed a two-month cap of 500 liras per megawatt hour on electricity prices on Friday after prices rose to their highest level in years.

Turkey's daily natural gas consumption has risen to record highs since December, largely due to colder-than-usual weather triggering higher power consumption.

Italy's Edison to explore gas and oil in Egypt with $86mln - AMWAL AL GHAD

Thursday, 05 January 2017 16:09
Mahmuod Shaaban

Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) signed a new oil agreement with Italy's Edison to explore and produce oil and natural gas in North East Haby area in the Mediterranean Sea.

The investments of the agreement are estimated at more than US$86 million and a signature bonus of US$1.5 million , to drill two exploration wells.

The agreement was signed by Egypt's Oil Minister Tarek El-Molla and Mohamed El Masry -EGAS Chairman- and Maurizio Coratella, Vice President for Edison’s E&P activities for Egypt and the Middle East in the attendance of officials at the Egyptian ministry.

Turkey to halve its supply to private plants due to cold weather -sources - REUTERS

Thu Jan 5, 2017 | 4:28am EST
Reporting by Orhan Coskun; Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Nick Tattersall

Jan 5 Turkey's state pipeline operator Botas will cut supply to gas-fired power plants by 50 percent as of Friday due to increased household demand in cold weather, energy industry sources said on Thursday, in a bid to free up more gas for households.

Three industrial sources said private gas-fired power plants were informed of Botas' measures, before a cold wave, expected to cause heavy snow, hits Turkey over the weekend.

Erdogan Joins Push to Reunify Cyprus as Access to Energy Beckons - BLOOMBERG

5 January 2017, 2:01pm EETPaul Tugwell, Georgios Georgiou

• Officials say chance of ending frozen conflict best for years
• Geneva talks offer prospect of stability in turbulent region

TEKMOR Note: Our guess is that these talks will produce no concrete result. The two sides are as far apart as they ever were, despite the optimism that many of the players, with the UN leading the pack, speak of. Put simply, the majority Christians want enhanced integration, whereas the Muslim minority insists on a segragationist interpretation of the charter. Last, and one aspect that is kept a diplomatic secret, is what happens to the vital British military bases on the island (co-managed with the USA), with or without a solution, which are tightly linked to the 1960 arrangement that gave birth to the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus. We would not be surprised if Erdogan is going to Geneva merely to have his repeat Davos moment, against the leader of a far smaller nation than Israel, Cyprus.  

Merlon allocates USD 54 mn in investments to Fayoum concession in FY 2017-18 - ENTERPRISE / AL MAL

Thursday, 5 January 2017

Oil and Gas producer Merlon International is allocating USD 54 mn towards its development and production operations in its El Fayum concession in FY2017-18, Al Mal reported. Merlon’s JV PetroSilah will end FY2016-17 having invested around USD 64 mn, below the budgeted amount of USD 88 mn, sources at EGPC said. Currently, all of Merlon’s oil and gas assets are located within El Fayum concession in the Western Desert.

ENI chief meets Al-Sisi as tensions ease - NATURAL GAS WORLD

Rosneft and BP have an add'l 5% option each on Shorouk

January 05th, 20179:15am

Mark Smedley

Eni said late January 4 that its CEO Claudio Descalzi met the president of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, earlier that day in Cairo.

Descalzi reviewed the ongoing development of the giant Zohr gasfield with the president, noting that the ultra-fast track project is progressing as expected, still with “production start-up confirmed by end of 2017.” The Eni CEO also said that the Nooros field will produce some 25mn m³/d (882mn ft³/d, or 172,000 barrels of oil equivalent/day) by the end of this month, just 15 months after start-up.

Eni agreed late 2016 to farm out potentially up to 50% of Zohr to Rosneft and BP. Each has an option for another 5% on top of their 30% and 10% holdings respectively.

The President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi meets Eni’s CEO Claudio Descalzi - ENI

04/01/2017 18:39

Cairo (Egypt), January 4, 2017 - The President of the Republic of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and Eni’s Chief Executive Officer, Claudio Descalzi, met today in Cairo.

The meeting was an opportunity to review the extensive activity performed by Eni in Egypt, with a total investment in the country in 2016 of $ 2.7 bn.

During the meeting, Mr Descalzi reviewed with President el-Sisi the ongoing development activities of the Zohr field. The ultra-fast track project is progressing in line with the expectations, and the production startup is confirmed by end of 2017.

Lebanon Set to Join East Mediterranean Race for Oil and Gasby - BLOOMBERG

4 January 2017, 3:20pmDana Khraiche

• Cabinet approved two bills setting up rules on tenders, blocks
• ExxonMobil, Chevron among companies qualified to be operators

Lebanon approved two measures allowing it to auction its first offshore oil and natural gas rights, ending three years of delays that kept the tiny country from joining a regional race to tap energy wealth in the eastern Mediterranean.

The newly formed government headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri passed the two decrees on Wednesday, state-run National News Agency reported, citing Foreign Affairs Minister Gebran Bassil. The decrees demarcate energy blocks, establish production-sharing contracts and specify tender protocols. They take effect with no need for additional approval.

The cabinet formed ministerial committees to study a petroleum tax draft law and another proposed law governing onshore oil resources, Information Minister Melhem Riachi said in a televised news conference. The cabinet also discussed the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund to manage the oil and gas revenue.

Power sector seizes 60% of natural gas consumption: Egypt's EGAS - ZAWYA / AMWAL AL GHAD

Wednesday, 04 January 2017

Egyptian electricity sector seizes around 60 percent of state's total consumption of natural gas, an official source at the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) stated Tuesday.

Speaking to Amwal Al Ghad, the source added that the rise in natural gas consumption of all Egyptian sectors within the last years was the main factor behind government's decision to liberalise gas market.

EGAS owns a network for transporting and distributing gas without getting any returns on these investment, the source clarified.

Israel The Maritime Power: A Noble Vision, But Is It Feasible? – Analysis - EURASIA REVIEW

JANUARY 4, 2017

Traditionally, Israel has relied primarily on its ground and air forces to meet national security needs. Now it must also bolster its naval forces — this is what ten prominent US and Israeli experts argue in a joint University of Haifa and Hudson Institute report released earlier this year.

The US Navy — the guarantor of free trade — has significantly shrunk its permanent presence in the Mediterranean since the end of the Cold War. As the report notes, “[t]he Sixth Fleet’s permanent naval presence is now a single command ship in Italy and four Aegis destroyers equipped for ballistic missile defense, all based in Rota, Spain, just outside the Mediterranean.”

According to the report, Israel must therefore strive to take on the regional naval policing job and seek even greater cooperation with the US Navy. In other words it must play the role of deputy sheriff in a similar manner to the United Kingdom and Australia.

IOC receivables down to EGP 3.5 bn by 2016’s end -El Molla - ENTERPRISE / AL SHOROUK

Wednesday, 4 January 2017

Receivables due from EGPC to IOCs have dropped to USD 3.5 bn in 2016’s end, down from USD 3.6 bn at the end of September, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla said. The government bought USD 5.4 bn worth of crude and natural gas from IOCs last year and paid USD 5.5 bn, El Molla clarified, according to Al Shorouk. He said the Ministry is gearing up to make another round of payments to IOCs in order to encourage them to increase investments in Egypt.

Shell completes repayment of Idku liquefaction plant loan in December 2017 - ENTERPRISE / AL BORSA

Tuesday, 3 January 2017

Royal Dutch Shell will complete repayment by December 2017 of the second tranche of a USD 2 bn loan issued to BG to build the Idku liquefaction plant, sources told Al Borsa. EGPC agreed to pay USD 480 mn of the first installment due to the Idku plant halting operations in 2012. The Idku plant pays USD 200 mn in annual installments and requires around 22 shipments annually to become self-sufficient. The government has allowed the plant to export around 200 mcf/d since September; the newspaper suggests the plant could ramp up to full operating capacity by 2020.

Participation in a Tender for the Purchase of Oil and/or Gas Exploration Rights in Cyprus – Update - DELEK GROUP

Tel Aviv, January 3, 2017
Delek Group (TASE: DLEKG, US ADR: DGRLY) (“the Company”)

further to what is stated in the Company’s Immediate Report dated July 24, 2016 (ref. no. 2016-01-0088411) concerning submission of a bid for a tender issued by the Government of Cyprus for the acquisition of exploration rights for oil and/or natural gas in the Cyprus EEZ (“the Tender”), by a consortium including among others Avner Oil Exploration Limited Partnership and Delek Drilling Limited Partnership (together “the Partnerships”), provided below an Immediate Report published by each of the Partnerships with an update of the results of the Tender.

Azerbaijan increases gas supply to Turkey - TREND NEWS AGENCY

3 January 2017 12:20 (UTC+04:00)
Baku, Azerbaijan
Maksim Tsurkov

Azerbaijan supplied 5.31 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas to Turkey in January-October 2016 as compared to 5 bcm in the same period of 2015, Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority said in a report on its website Jan. 3.

Azerbaijan supplied 6.17 bcm of natural gas to Turkey in 2015 as compared to 6.07 bcm in 2014.

The report said that in January-October 2016, Turkey imported 36.42 bcm of gas, of which 30.62 bcm were supplied via pipelines, while 5.8 bcm accounted for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Engie to build gas, electricity trading platform - DAILY SABAH

3 January 2017

The Global Energy Management (GEM) division of France's Engie, a multinational electric utility company, has revealed plans to establish a gas and electricity trading platform in Istanbul, through a written statement on Dec. 29.

The written statement read, "We have been rendering service in Turkey for more than 40 years. Neptune, one of Engie Group's Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Storage and Gasification (FSRU) terminals, started to operate in İzmir's Etki LNG terminal as the first FSRU terminal in Turkey last week. Engie continues to actualize natural gas supply projects in line with the needs of the Turkish market."

Two oil companies reach agreements to pay suppliers in EGP - ENTERPRISE

Tuesday, 3 January 2017

Oil and gas companies SDX Energy and Merlon International have reportedly reached agreements with their suppliers and contractors in Egypt to repay them in EGP, sources told Al Mal. The initial agreements allowed companies to pay 40% of their receivables in EGP, but the fall in international oil prices, delays in payments from EGPC, and the EGP devaluation have driven the companies to increase the portion they pay in EGP.

Libya's oil production reaches 685,000 bpd - NOC - ECOFIN AGENCY

Monday, 02 January 2017 - 13:39
Anita Fatunji

Libya’s oil production during the weekend reached 685,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) up from around 600,000 a day last month, an official from the National Oil Corporation (NOC) revealed.

The country’s output increased following the lifting of the two-year blockade on key pipelines leading from the western fields of Sharara and El Feel.

The NOC official said output has been rising steadily from the Sharara field, which has a capacity of 330,000 bpd but did not provide any details concerning operations at El Feel, which has the capacity to produce 90,000 bpd.

EGPC issues tenders for 1.012 mn tonnes of diesel to cover its Feb, March needs - ENTERPRISE

Monday, 2 January 2017
ENTERPRISE / AL BORSA

The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) has issued two tenders to purchase nearly 1.012 mn tonnes of diesel to cover its requirements for the months of February and March, Al Borsa reports. 

The window for bidding will close on 10 January.

Egypt's bill of importing natural gas hit $250m per month: El-Molla - AMWAL AL GHAD

Monday, 02 January 2017 16:43
Mahmoud Shaaban

Egypt's bill of importing natural gas is estimated at around US$250 million per month, Egyptian Oil Minister Tarek El-Molla stated Sunday.

He added that the Egyptian government would continue importing natural gas until reaching self-sufficiency within the coming two years.

Expanding in importing natural gas within the last few years came to cover all needs of the local market notably electricity and industry sectors, the minster clarified.

El-Molla noted that the continuous explorations in different concession areas play an important role in discovering more gas wells and fields, thus, raising state's production of natural gas.

Obstacles to Israeli natural gas development - CHAPTER 8: GLOBAL ENERGY DEBATES AND THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

Joint Publication by: PRIO Cyprus Centre, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Atlantic Council
Elai Rettig

Introduction 

In 2009 and 2010 two major offshore gas fields were discovered in Israel’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ); the Tamar field, with estimated reserves of 282 billion cubic metres (bcm), and the Leviathan field, with estimated reserves of 500 bcm.1 Both fields were discovered by a private Israeli-American partnership consisting mainly of two companies – the Israeli Delek Group and the Texas-based Noble Energy Inc. These discoveries were later supplemented by two smaller fields named Tanin (discovered in 2012) and Karish (discovered in 2013) which were together estimated to hold 30 bcm.2 The discoveries initially sparked a sense of euphoria among Israeli decision-makers and the public. The gas fields were viewed not only as an economic blessing, but also a major security asset that could give the resource-poor State of Israel a much-sought-after level of energy independence it never had, and even the potential to reap political benefits by becoming an exporter of gas. 

Egypt to boost natural gas grid by 2017-minister - AMWAL AL GHAD / REUTERS

1 January, 2017
Mahmoud Shaaban

Egypt's production of natural gas is expected to witness a leap in 2017 as pursuant to state's plans for adding production of discovered fields to the national grid, Oil Minister stated Saturday.

Tarek El-Molla said that the first phase of Zohr gas field is set to add more than one billion cubic feet of gas daily before the end of 2017.

The ministry targets covering local market's needs of natural gas through adding the production of the newly-discovered fields to the national grid, the minister clarified.

Speaking about the future of Egyptian petroleum sector, El-Molla added that around 500 million ft3/day of gas would be added to the national grid before the middle of 2017 from North Alexandria filed.