Is the TAP, a project of national and geopolitical importance, at stake? - IBNA

30-03-2018, 21:13
Nefeli Tzanetakou

Construction of the Greek section of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline natural gas pipeline is proceeding rapidly, with the aim of completing the project within the foreseen timetable, that is within 2018.

According to Katerina Papalexandri, the project manager for Greece, the construction from Evros Gardens to the Greek-Albanian borders in Kristalopigi, Kastoria, will have been completed by November 2018.

After that, the testing period is expected sometime by mid-2019, a moment when hydrocarbons will become part of the project, and in 2020 the TAP pipeline will be ready for commercial operation.

The pipeline will initially transfer 10 billion cubic meters of gas a year, from the Shah Deniz deposit in Azerbaijan to Europe, with a potential for doubling the capacity to 20 billion cubic meters, while it will be connected with the Greek gas system at three spots (in Pella, Kastoria and Kozani).

South Ramadan group to seek rig for development drilling - OFFSHORE MAGAZINE

March/29/2018


LONDON – SDX Energy has issued an update on operations at the South Ramadan concession in the Gulf of Suez offshore Egypt.

The partners have completed the final sub-surface technical work in connection with an evaluation of development options.

They have opted to drill a development well up-dip of one of the previous producing wells on the field. Depending on rig availability, this will be drilled either early in the current quarter or late in 3Q 2018.

Total cost of the 2018 program will be around $23.5 million including platform remediation work and a well workover (both dependent on a success outcome of the development well).

Eastern Mediterranean gas discoveries redefine LNG playing field - LNG WORLD SHIPPING

Wed 28 Mar 2018

Mike Corkhill

The Eastern Mediterranean is fast becoming a gas hub, with numerous LNG projects, plentiful recent gas finds and likely further discoveries

Newly discovered offshore gas deposits in the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of Egypt, Israel and Cyprus, coming on top of similar major finds in recent years, are poised to alter the energy map of the Eastern Mediterranean irrevocably. LNG projects, which already play a key role in the region’s gas distribution logistics, will be impacted by the upcoming development of the Eastern Mediterranean gas fields.

The majority of the LNG projects in the area are import schemes, and floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) have proved to be the most popular route to securing access to new gas supplies quickly and at relatively low cost. Turkey, Egypt, Israel and Jordan make use of FSRUs to import LNG while Greece, Cyprus and Lebanon are evaluating FSRU projects.

Exxon Mobil’s Ocean Investigator arrives in block 10 of Cyprus' EEZ - CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

28/03/2018 10:40 

CNA - CYPRUS/Limassol 

Exxon Mobil’s “Ocean Investigator” research vessel sailed on Tuesday night from the port of Limassol into block 10 of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to carry out hydrocarbon explorations for the US oil giant.

The Ocean Investigator had docked at the port of Limassol on March 14.

A second research vessel of Exxon Mobil called “Med Surveyor” also departed from the port of Limassol on Tuesday and headed towards Piraeus, Greece, after having completed its environmental research in block 10.

Cypriot gas dispute colors Turkey-EU summit - OIL & GAS JOURNAL

HOUSTON, Mar. 27 2018

A meeting in Varna, Bulgaria, between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and leaders of the European Union ended with repeated EU condemnation of Turkey’s recent interference with oil and gas exploration off Cyprus.

“The European Union stands united behind the Republic of Cyprus,” declared Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, in Varna.

Just days before the summit, the EU had said it “strongly condemns Turkey’s continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea and underlines its full solidarity with Cyprus and Greece.”

Energy programme proceeding as planned, president tells oil and gas forum - CYPRUS MAIL

March 27, 2018

Jean Christou

Cyprus is promoting three projects that were selected by the European Commission as projects of common interest, because of their benefits to the European energy market, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Tuesday.

The president was addressing the 9th Mediterranean Forum on Oil and Gas in Nicosia, telling delegates that recently, two of the projects had secured EU funding. Specifically, €101 million will be allocated to the CyprusGas2EU project, while the EastMed Pipeline had been awarded €34.5m for technical studies.

Israeli Greens Fume as Noble Energy Asks to Block Publication of Leviathan Data - HAARETZ

Mar 27, 2018 4:20 AMZafrir Rinat 

The Noble Energy company has asked to block publication of some of the data connected to the gas platform at Leviathan for reasons of commercial secrecy. At issue is data meant to be privy to the public under the emissions permit the company will be receiving, which will set the pollution limits allowed during operation of the rigs.

The area’s Association of Cities for the Environment is demanding that all the data be released, and the Environmental Protection Ministry is also arguing that as much data as possible should be made public.

A year-and-a-half ago Noble Energy launched the process for requesting an emissions permit, which all industrial installations must have under the Clean Air Law. On the gas processing platform that the company plans to start operating next year, there will be processes that could lead to the emission of large amounts of toxic substances, such as benzene. Under the emissions permit, the company is required to install measures on the platform to reduce these emissions.

BRIEF-TechnipFMC says awarded contract by Energean for Karish field in Israel - REUTERS

MARCH 26, 2018 / 8:25 AM

TechnipFMC Plc:

• SAYS AWARDED INTEGRATED ENGINEERING, PROCUREMENT, CONSTRUCTION AND INSTALLATION CONTRACT BY ENERGEAN FOR KARISH FIELD OFFSHORE ISRAEL

• TECHNIP SAYS CONTRACT COVERS THE DESIGN, PROCUREMENT, CONSTRUCTION AND INSTALLATION OF THE COMPLETE SUBSEA SYSTEM.

• IT INCLUDES A FLOATING PRODUCTION STORAGE AND OFFLOADING UNIT (FPSO) DESIGNED TO ALLOW THE SUBSEQUENT TIE-BACK OF THE TANIN FIELD, THE PIPELINE SYSTEM, AND THE ONSHORE PIPELINE AND VALVE STATION AT THE RECEIVING STATION. 

Spud of Ibn Yunus-1X well, Egypt - SDX ENERGY

26 March 2018 

SDX Energy Inc. (TSXV, AIM: SDX), the North Africa focused oil and gas company, is pleased to announce that it has spud its Ibn Yunus-1X exploration well at South Disouq, Egypt. 

The Ibn Yunus-1X well, anticipated to take approximately 30 days to drill,will be targeting the same conventional natural gas bearing Abu Madi intervals discovered in the SD-1X well in April 2017. This is the first of a planned four well program on the South Disouq concession. The Ibn Yunus-1X well will be followed by two appraisal wells (SD-4X and 3X) in the original SD-1X structure which, if successful, will be used as producers thereby completing the base case development plan for the new field. The Company, in its technically approved development plan by the Egyptian authority,forecasts a plateau rate from the SD-1X field of 50 million standard cubic feet per day ("MMscf/d") of conventional natural gas (SDX 55% working interest). However, with any exploration success,the field plateau rate could potentially increase up to 100 MMscf/d. Start-up of production at South Disouq is expected to commence in H2 2018. The final well in the program, Kelvin-1X, will be an exploration well which, if successful, would be tied into the facilities located at the SD-1X field. The Kelvin-1X exploration well is targeting the same package of sands found to be productive at the SD-1X location but in a geologic structure up-dip of SD-1X, thereby reducing the level of risk and uncertainty when compared to a conventional exploration well. 

DESFA bids to finally be opened at end of this week - ENERGY PRESS

26 March 2018

Offers made by two bidding teams to an international tender offering a 66 percent stake of DESFA, the natural gas grid operator, are finally expected to be opened at the end of this week, a month and a half after they had been submitted.

TAIPED, the state privatization fund, has virtually completed its thorough processing and inspections of the offers submitted by the two bidding consortiums, while the participating teams have provided responses as to which respective team member plans to assume the management role, sources have informed.

For quite some time now, officials and pundits have appeared confident the offers may exceed 500 million euros, 25 percent over an offer made by Azerbaijan’s Socar in a previous and unfinished sale attempt.

Energean takes FID on Karish and Tanin gas project, offshore Israel - WORLD OIL

MARCH/23/2018

ATHENS -- Energean Oil & Gas PLC has announced that its board of directors has approved the Final Investment Decision (FID) to proceed with the $1.6-billion Karish & Tanin Development Project, offshore Israel.

$405 million of the $460 million raised from the recent IPO of Energean will be used to fund the Company’s 70% share in the project, while the remaining 30% will be funded by Kerogen Capital, Energean’s partner in the project.

The project is also being financed through a Senior Credit Facility of $1.275 billion recently announced and underwritten by Morgan Stanley, Natixis, Bank Hapoalim and Société Générale.

Energean has secured long-term gas agreements with some of the largest private power producers and industrial companies in Israel. The Company has contracted for the purchase of a total of 61 Bcm of gas over a period of 16 years, at an annual rate of approximately 4.2 Bcm per year (on an ACQ basis).

Energean will develop the project through a new build, owned FPSO with gas treatment capacity of 800 MMscfd (8 Bcm/per annum) and liquids storage capacity of 800,000 bbl, which the Company believes provides a flexible infrastructure solution and, potentially the scope to expand output for potential additional projects. A 90-km gas pipeline will link the FPSO to the Israeli coast and necessary onshore facilities to allow connection to the domestic sales gas grid operated by INGL, the national gas transmission company.

Apache to drill 50 new wells in Egypt next fiscal year, EGAS and Eni trying to speed up Zohr production schedule - ENTERPRISE

Sunday, 25 March 2018

Apache is planning on drilling 50 new exploratory wells in Egypt in the coming fiscal year through its Qarun and Khalda Petroleum subsidiaries, both JVs with EGPC, Apache CEO John Christmann said on Thursday, according to a report in state-owned Ahram Gate. Christmann said he expects the sector to “witness a boom” in FY2018-19. Apache’s Khalda had signed a USD 20 mn agreement with the EGPC back in December to begin exploration activities in the Western Desert’s Alam El Shawish concession. Apache and Merlon had also signed USD 79 mn-worth of Western Desert exploration agreements with the Oil Ministry in August last year.

Separately, EGAS and Eni are planning to bring production at Zohr to maximum capacity ahead of schedule. The two companies are working hard to have the supergiant East-Mediterranean gas field pumping out its full capacity of 2.7 bcf/d ahead of its slated end-2019 deadline, sources close to the matter tell Al Shorouk, adding that output from Zohr — which is expected to help Egypt reach natural gas self-sufficiency and become a net exporter of LNG — should also rise to 700 mcf/d, from a current 350 mcf/d, by May instead of June.

BP seeks USD 1 bn from sale of Egypt oil assets, expected to focus more on Egypt and Oman after failing to renew UAE concessions - ENTERPRISE

Sunday, 25 March 2018

BP is hoping to raise USD 1 bn from “mature oil assets in Egypt” that it has recently put up for sale, sources close to the matter tell Bloomberg. 

The move is part of the company’s strategy to “maintain capital discipline,” they add. 

This comes as BP “missed out on a chance to renew its partnership in oil concessions off the [UAE’s] shores, which expired this month,” which means that it will now need to focus its efforts on other regional gas assets, including Egypt’s Zohr and Oman’s Khazzan, in addition to its 2016 concessions.