Egypt signs $2.4 mln oil and gas deal with Trident Petroleum - AMWAL AL GHAD

Saturday, 11 November 2017 15:48

Mahmoud Shaaban

Egypt signed Saturday a new oil agreement with Trident Petroleum to explore oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Suez worth at least $2.4 billion worth at least $2.4 million.

The agreement was signed by Egypt’s Petroleum Minister Tarek el-Molla, Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation’s (EGPC) chairman Abed Ezz el-Regal and Trident’s president Ehab Awad.

The agreed investments included a signature bonus of $500,000 to drill four exploration wells in Magawish Block in the Gulf of Suez.

Once an energy exporter, Egypt has turned into a net importer because of declining oil and gas production and increasing consumption. It is trying to speed up production at recent discoveries to fill its energy gap as soon as possible.

Egypt, Cyprus probe capitalizing on Mediterranean Hydrocarbon wealth - STATE INFORMATION SERVICE EGYPT

Friday، 10 November 2017 - 01:15 PM

Petroleum Minister Tarek el Mulla received on Friday 10/11/2017 a Cypriot delegation comprising Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company Executive Manager Demetris Fessas along with the company’s Commercial Director Andreas Koutsoulides.

The meeting falls within the framework of the ongoing consultations and negotiations regarding capitalizing on the Hydrocarbon wealth of the Mediterranean.

Minister Mulla underscored the depth of historic relations between the two countries that witnessed a notable development recently, especially in the domains of natural gas excavation in eastern the Mediterranean.

The Cypriot delegation, for its part, expressed readiness for further cooperation with Egypt in this promising sphere.

Washington is eager to see US exporters succeed in marketing LNG from the United States - NEW EUROPE

NOVEMBER 10, 2017, 19:59
Kostis Geropoulos

PIRAEUS, Greece – Greece’s position as an energy hub that can help the European Union increase its energy security and diversification of supplies, reducing reliance on Russia were highlighted by Commission Vice President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič and US Ambassador to Athens Geoffrey Pyatt.

At the Greek Energy Forum at Greece’s biggest port on November 10, the US Ambassador emphasised “the enduring and critically important partnership between the United States in working to advance our shared goals of European energy security”.

“Over the past few years, the United States has made it a priority to work with our European partners and with Greece in particular to develop secure supplies of energy in this region through diversification of energy sources,” Pyatt said.

Libya's new power plant to cut Sharara oil exports by 50,000 bpd - HYDROCARBON PROCESSING / REUTERS

NOV/10/2017

Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar Editing by David Evans, Greg Mahlich

LONDON (Reuters) — Libya’s new Ubari gas-fired power station will initially run on up to 50,000 bpd of Sharara crude oil when it starts up in around two weeks, slashing exports from Libya’s biggest oilfield, a Libyan oil industry source said on Thursday.

The plant, if it starts on time, will initially consume 30,000 bpd of crude oil before ramping up to around 50,000 bpd, he said, declining to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Libya will consider running the plant on feedstock other than crude in the future, as the country faces a severe shortage of electricity especially during peak winter demand, the source said.

Production at Sharara is stabilizing at around 300,000 bpd and the OPEC member’s National Oil Corp is trying to restore production to its full capacity of 340,000 bpd, another Libyan oil industry source said last week.

Egyptian Refining Co.’s $3.7 Billion Plant Will Start Up in September - BLOOMBERG

November 9, 2017, 2:34 PM GMT+2Mirette Magdy

• Plant will pare country’s need for imported fuel: Chairman
• Refinery is part of plan to raise local processing capacity

Egyptian Refining Co.’s new $3.7 billion processing plant will begin operations in September and save the government some $300 million a year by reducing the country’s reliance on imported fuel, its chairman said.

Ahmed Heikal, who is also chairman of investment company Qalaa Holding, a 19 percent shareholder in the project, said construction of the refinery will be completed in June, with operations to begin in September. The Cairo facility will ramp up output to 98 percent of capacity by the end of 2018.

BP’s Atoll field is 93% complete, production on track by year’s end - ENERGY EGYPT

November 9, 2017

BP will launch production at the USD 3.8 bilion Atoll field in the North Damietta concession ahead of schedule by the end of the year, said Hassan Abady, Chairman BP JV Pharaonic Oil Company, Al Ahram reports. Development of the field is 93% complete, including the drilling of three deepwater wells 950 meters below the water’s surface. The field is expected to produce 300 mcf/d and 8k bbl/d once online.

BP’s Atoll field is 93% complete

Development works of British Petroleum’s (BP) Atoll Phase One project is 93 percent complete, head of BP’s joint venture Pharaonic Petroleum Company, Hassan Abady said Wednesday.

Total Acquires Engie’s Upstream LNG Business and Becomes the Second Largest Global LNG Player - BUSINESS WIRE

November 08, 2017 12:28 PM Eastern Standard Time

PARIS

Total (Paris:FP) (LSE:TTA) (NYSE:TOT) has signed an agreement with Engie to acquire its portfolio of upstream liquefied natural gas (LNG) assets for an overall enterprise value of $1.49 billion. This portfolio includes participating interests in liquefaction plants, notably the interest in the Cameron LNG project in the US, long term LNG sales and purchase agreements, an LNG tanker fleet as well as access to regasification capacities in Europe. Additional payments of up to $ 550 million could be payable by Total in case of an improvement in the oil markets in the coming years.

“The acquisition of Engie’s upstream LNG business enables Total to accelerate the implementation of its strategy to integrate along the full gas value chain, in an LNG market growing strongly at 5% to 6% per year. The combination of these two complementary portfolios will allow the Group to manage an overall volume of around 40 million tonnes of LNG per year by 2020, making Total the second largest global player among the majors with a worldwide market share of 10%,” commented Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Total. “With the equity stake in the Cameron LNG project, Total will also become an integrated player in the US LNG market, where the Group is already a gas producer.”

West Nile Delta Phase 2 gas fields to produce 500-700 mmcf/d by 2018 - ENERGY EGYPT / ENTERPRISE / MUBASHER

November 8, 2017

The Oil Ministry is expecting the West Nile Delta (WND) gas fields – Giza and Fayoum – to produce 500-700 mmcf/d (TEKMOR Note: approx 0,2 tcf per year) when they come online by the end of 2018, the ministry said in a statement.

More West Nile Delta gas fields to begin production late 2018

The Egyptian minister of petroleum said that natural gas production from the second phase of the West Nile Delta (WND) project will begin by the end of 2018.

Tarek El Molla added that fields including Giza and Fayoum will have a production capacity ranging between 500 and 700 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/d).

Production is set to reach 1.6 billion cubic feet per day, with a 70-kilometer pipeline currently under construction.

It was previously reported that the fields are expected to cover around 25% of Egypt’s gas demand upon completion.

According to Al Ahram, gas extraction from the West Nile Delta fields is carried out in cooperation with British Petroleum (BP) and Germany’s DEA group.

A Fast-Approaching Future - ABO

Nov, 08 2017
Giancarlo Strocchia

Interview with Tarek El-Molla, Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. Thanks to major gas discoveries in the Mediterranean and a vast infrastructure upgrade plan for its crude oil conversion system, Egypt has the opportunity to become a regional energy hub and reach its goal of energy self-sufficiency by 2018

Cordiality and firmness. In the eyes and words of Tarek El-Molla, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, the country is using all of its willpower to take full advantage, now and in the coming years, of the opportunities offered by its domestic energy industry. Huge gas discoveries in the eastern part of the Mediterranean have led to broad ambitions for the entire sector, and those ambitions are manifest in specific, innovative projects. Moreover, the recent doubling of the Suez Canal has, for Cairo, been another launchpad to project the country towards a future of sought-after and necessary growth. El-Molla is fully aware of the potential offered by these developments and intends to focus his efforts toward taking full advantage of them.

Cyprus, Greece and Israel strengthen defence cooperation - CYPRUS MAIL

November 7, 2017

Jean Christou

The defence ministers of Cyprus, Greece and Israel met in Athens on Tuesday to discuss strengthening cooperation to promote security, stability and peace in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Defence Minister Christoforos Fokaides, after attending the first tripartite meeting with his counterparts, said: “Our vision is to gradually turn the wider region from a conflict zone to an area of peace, stability and cooperation.

“The path we embarked on today will prove particularly beneficial for our three countries and will highlight the fact that threats and tension have no place in this region today.”

According to Fokaides, the only path is that of “cooperation, good-neighbourly relations and mutual trust”.

Report: Total, Eni to drill in new exploration block off Cyprus - SEEKING ALPHA

Nov. 7, 2017 1:47 PM ET

Carl Surran

Total (TOT -0.2%) and Eni (E +0.7%) plan to jointly drill an exploration well off Cyprus by the end of this year or early next year, the country's president told France's Le Figaro.

Pres. Anastasiades says he met with Patrick Pouyanne over the weekend, with the TOT CEO telling him the two companies would move ahead with plans to drill in Block 6 despite disappointing drilling results from Block 11.

The two companies each hold 50% stakes in Block 6 with Eni the operator, while both hold 50% of Block 11 with TOT the operator.

Striking Politics When Drilling For Gas In Mediterranean - WORLDCRUNCH / LES ECHOS

2017-NOVEMBER-06
Anne Feitz

-Analysis-

PARIS — Drilling operations have begun off the coast of Cyprus despite Ankara's threats against the Cypriot government. And for French oil and gas multinational Total and its Italian partner, ENI, hopes for a huge payout are running high. As IHS Markit reported earlier this year, the "Onisiforos" operation, as it's known, is expected to be "one of the most critical wells drilled globally in 2017."

It will be several months before Total and ENI have a clear picture of what exactly the Onisiforos well will turn up. But they have reason to be optimistic given other recent natural gas discoveries in the area. Egypt's Zohr gas field, thought to be the biggest gas discovery in the Mediterranean, is only six kilometers away.

Israeli Natural Gas Cartel Seeking Testimony From Top Treasury Officials About Gas Deal - HAARETZ

Nov 06, 2017 4:36 AMIdo Baum 
Noble Energy fighting class action suit over gas prices agreed between cartel and Israel Electric Corporation

One of the partners in the Tamar natural gas field cartel, Noble Energy, is seeking to subpoena three senior Israeli government officials to testify in Central District Court for a hearing over a class action suit against the cartel.

The officials are Shaul Meridor – the outgoing director general of the Energy Ministry – who was chosen to head the Finance Ministry’s budget division; Udi Adiri, the outgoing deputy head of the budget division, who is slated to switch places with Meridor and be the next director general of the Energy Ministry; and Morris Dorfman, who was deputy head of the National Economic Council and now serves as head of the Health Ministry’s regulatory division.

All three played key roles in putting together the framework agreement two years ago.

According to the subpoena request filed last week, cartel officials believe these witnesses can shed light on the fact that the natural gas price in Israel was set under Israel’s authority.

Egypt to award 12-cargo LNG tender to Gas Natural Fenosa, Swiss traders -trade sources - REUTERS

NOVEMBER 6, 2017 / 6:29 PMReporting by Oleg Vukmanovic; Editing by Susan Fenton

LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Egypt is expected to award its 12-cargo liquefied natural gas (LNG) tender to Spain’s Gas Natural Fenosa and three Swiss-based trading houses for supplies in the first quarter of 2018, trade sources said.

The final allocation may change but traders currently expect Egyptian Natural Gas Holding (EGAS) to award the Spanish gas company five shipments, trader Trafigura to supply three, Vitol three and Glencore one.

EGAS is seeking to bring in nine of the cargoes via Egypt’s two floating import terminals and three cargoes through a Jordanian terminal.

In the past EGAS has imported LNG through the Jordanian facility, where cargoes were converted back into gas and pumped through pipelines to Egypt. 

Jordan refiner lets contract for expansion project - OIL & GAS JOURNAL

HOUSTON, Nov. 1, 2017
Robert Brelsford

Jordan Petroleum Refinery Co. Ltd. (JPRC), the sole refining company of Jordan, has let a contract to KBR Inc. to provide basic engineering for a residue hydroprocessing unit to be built as part of the proposed expansion of its 100,000-b/d refinery at Zarqa, 35 km east of Amman.

KBR’s scope of work will include delivery of the basic design package for the unit, which will be based on its proprietary Veba Combi-Cracking (VCC) slurry phase hydrocracking technology to enable the refinery to process a wider range of feedstocks and produce fuels meeting environmental specifications without further upgrading, the service provider said.

The unit will be at the core of the refinery’s proposed fourth expansion project, which aims to increase crude processing capacity at the site to 120,000 b/d, KBR said.

This latest contract follows JPRC’s previous selection of KBR to deliver licensing of its VCC technology for the project.

While KBR disclosed neither values nor durations of either of its contracts with JPRC, the service company did confirm revenues associated with the project will be booked into backlog of unfilled orders for its technology and consulting business segment in this year’s fourth quarter.

ExxonMobil delegation in Egypt to discuss possible projects - ENTERPRISE

Sunday, 5 November 2017

A delegation from ExxonMobil reportedly arrived in Egypt to discuss possible oil and gas projects within the next 5-7 years, an Oil Ministry source says, Youm7 reports. 

The delegation met with officials from the EGPC, EGAS, and the Ganoub El Wadi Petroleum Holding Company. 

Total to begin operations soon in block 6 of Cyprus’ EEZ - CYPRUS MAIL

November 5, 2017

French energy giant Total will soon begin operating in block 6 of Cyprus` Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) it was announced on Sunday evening after a meeting President Nicos Anastasiades had in Paris with the company`s Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne and Vice President of the Middle East and North Africa division Elias Kassis.

Present at the meeting was Government Spokesman Nicos Christodoulides, who is accompanying Anastasiades, on his working visit to France. On Monday Anastasiades will meet with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.

According to an announcement issued by the presidency, in statements after the meeting, Christodoulides said that “it was a very constructive meeting during which the activities of the company in Cyprus were discussed, as a result of a recent drilling and future company plans in cooperation with the Italian ENI.”

Cyprus: The new energy gate of Europe - CYPRUS MAIL

November 5, 2017Charlies Ellinas

The government is giving priority to the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons and the development of energy
CYPRUS: The new energy gate of Europe was the title of the 5th Energy Symposium organised by IENE and Financial Media Way (FMW), held in Nicosia on November 1.

Costis Stambolis, executive director of IENE, opening the Symposium praised Cyprus on the achievements of its exploration programme. He added that Cyprus has the potential to play a key role in Europe’s energy and that energy could also be key to the solution of the Cyprus problem.

The Symposium was addressed by President Anastasiades, Demetris Syllouris, Nicos Kouyalis, Giorgos Lakkotrypis and Fidias Pilides. Greek energy minister Giorgos Stathakis also sent a message. The key highlights from these presentations were: