Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Foreign Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias arrived in Cairo on Friday afternoon to meet Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry for three-way talks.
Saturday, September 15, 2018
Egypt, Greece, Cyprus FMs hold talks in Cairo - EGYPT INDEPENDENT / AL-MASRY AL-YOUM
Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Foreign Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias arrived in Cairo on Friday afternoon to meet Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry for three-way talks.
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Israel, Greece, Cyprus plan underwater gas pipeline - ARUTZ SHEVA 7
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday, at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, held a trilateral meeting with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides. He also met with both men separately.
The three discussed, in continuation of previous meetings, the laying of a joint Israel-Cyprus-Greece East-Med gas pipeline in order to export gas to Europe. They also discussed – inter alia – regional issues, the deepening of cooperation and the initiative to establish a multi-national firefighting force.
"Foreign Minister Christodoulides and Foreign Minister Kotzias, this is one of our regular meetings between Israel, Greece and Cyprus. We have many things that we cooperate on—the environment, energy, security, emergency services, tourism, many others,” said Netanyahu.
“Our prime focus right now is on energy, on developing the eastern Mediterranean pipeline. It’s a great project, could be one of the great underwater projects in the world. And obviously it’s something that we think is important.
Bulgaria-Greece Gas Pipeline Project Receives Initial Bids - NOVINITE / REUTERS
Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova; Editing by Edmund Blair
Italy’s Saipem, a consortium including Azeri state firm SOCAR and nine other groups or firms have submitted initial bids to build a gas pipeline between Bulgaria and Greece, the company overseeing delivery of the project said.
ICGB launched a tender in April for design, procurement and construction of the 182-km (113-mile) pipeline that is estimated to cost 145 million euros (8 million). The contract winner will have 18 months to complete the project.
Other firms which have filed initial bids also include Italy’s Sicim, Greek company J&P Avax, Turkey’s Fernas, a group including Sicilsaldo, Nuova Ghizzoni and Inrakat, and a consortium of Germany’s Max Streicher and Greece’s Terna.
ICGB will draw up a shortlist of final bidders.
Sofia plans to use the pipeline to receive one billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz 2 gas field after 2020, ending its almost complete reliance on Russian gas supplies.
Italy’s Saipem, a consortium including Azeri state firm SOCAR and nine other groups or firms have submitted initial bids to build a gas pipeline between Bulgaria and Greece, the company overseeing delivery of the project said.
ICGB launched a tender in April for design, procurement and construction of the 182-km (113-mile) pipeline that is estimated to cost 145 million euros (8 million). The contract winner will have 18 months to complete the project.
Other firms which have filed initial bids also include Italy’s Sicim, Greek company J&P Avax, Turkey’s Fernas, a group including Sicilsaldo, Nuova Ghizzoni and Inrakat, and a consortium of Germany’s Max Streicher and Greece’s Terna.
ICGB will draw up a shortlist of final bidders.
Sofia plans to use the pipeline to receive one billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz 2 gas field after 2020, ending its almost complete reliance on Russian gas supplies.
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Upgraded LNG terminal set for launch amid US interest - ENERGY PRESS
A third storage tank added to an LNG terminal at Revythoussa, an islet close to Athens, is set for its commercial launch between late October and early November, slightly behind schedule.
The new tank, which promises to increase the facility’s overall capacity to 225,000 cubic meters, almost double its previous size, is currently undergoing test runs.
The facility’s capacity upgrade represents a pivotal development for the LNG terminal, a key asset belonging to DESFA, the natural gas grid operator, whose 66 percent is being privatized. A consortium comprised of Italy’s Snam, Spain’s Enagás Internacional and Belgium’s Fluxys has emerged as the winning bidder with a 535 million-euro offer.
DESFA is already engaged in talks with Greek and foreign firms interested in utilizing the upgraded facility and reserving capacities. They include two US firms, Cheniere and Tellurian, amid initiatives being taken for American gas imports into Greece. Cheniere and Tellurian have enquired about usage fees, capacities, technical details and port capabilities.
All firms interested in utilizing the upgraded LNG terminal at Revythoussa have made clear they are eyeing both the Greek market and the wider region to the north.
Lebanon’s second licensing round: Lessons learned and the case for stability - MIDDLE EAST STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVES / EXECUTIVE MAGAZINE
Preparations for the launching of Lebanon’s second offshore licensing round have begun. The Lebanese Petroleum Administration has published a tentative timeline for the tender, which will be officially launched by the end of 2018. The process, including the pre-qualification phase, will extend over a period of one year.
Natural Gas Regulatory Authority postpones issuance of natgas import licenses - ENTERPRISE
The Natural Gas Regulatory Authority has postponed the issuance of natural gas import licenses to private sector companies, saying the private sector is “unprepared,”according to an EGAS source. EGAS has renewed preliminary approval to grant Qalaa Holdings’ TAQA Arabia, BB Energy and Fleet Energy the import licenses, effectively giving them additional time after all three allegedly failed to submit paperwork to obtain the final license, according to the source. The preliminary approvals, which are renewed every six months unless a permanent license is obtained, must be ratified by the authority.
Take this with a grain of salt: When all three companies fail to file paperwork on time, that’s not the private sector being “unprepared,” it’s the business sending a message to government about license terms — and the regulator putting on some pressure in public. We suspect we’re not the only ones who hear echoes here of round one in the solar energy feed-in-tariff imbroglio.
Background: The authority was given the green light in July to begin issuing and revoking licenses for private players in the natural gas industry, a move that was made possible by the deregulation of the sector through the Natural Gas Act. Sources had said at the time that the first import license would likely be issued before the end of 2018.
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Greece on the energy map, with the support of big players - KATHIMERINI
 |
| Anastasiades, Tsipras (C), Netanyahu (R) |
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 11, 2018, 15:12
There has been a serious uptick in activity concerning the energy sector in the broader region in the past few months and Greece has a potentially pivotal role to play in developments.
This week, the foreign ministers of Greece and Cyprus will meet in Athens and then travel to Israel for talks with Benjamin Netanyahu, in his capacity as foreign affairs chief. Apart from the broader framework of cooperation in other areas, energy will be high on the agenda.
US energy giant ExxonMobil is planning to start exploratory drilling in Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone, and in the face of Turkey’s unpredictable behavior Nicosia is counting on the support of Israel, which it sees not just as a major player in the area and a member of the tripartite alliance with Greece, but also as a bridge with the United States, even more so thanks to the close personal relationship between the Israeli prime minister and the American president.
There has been a serious uptick in activity concerning the energy sector in the broader region in the past few months and Greece has a potentially pivotal role to play in developments.
This week, the foreign ministers of Greece and Cyprus will meet in Athens and then travel to Israel for talks with Benjamin Netanyahu, in his capacity as foreign affairs chief. Apart from the broader framework of cooperation in other areas, energy will be high on the agenda.
US energy giant ExxonMobil is planning to start exploratory drilling in Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone, and in the face of Turkey’s unpredictable behavior Nicosia is counting on the support of Israel, which it sees not just as a major player in the area and a member of the tripartite alliance with Greece, but also as a bridge with the United States, even more so thanks to the close personal relationship between the Israeli prime minister and the American president.
Monday, September 10, 2018
EGAS renews initial approvals for BB energy, Taqa, Energy Fleet for gas importation - DAILY NEWS EGYPT
Mohamed Adel
EGAS has renewed the approvals for the companies BB, Taqa and Fleet Energy on the licenses for natural or liquefied gas importation to provide it within the local market, after the licenses expired and the companies did not submit the required data to obtain the licenses.
A source at EGAS told Daily News Egypt that the three companies that obtained the initial approvals for the licenses have not submitted the data related to the importation body and the supplied amounts, as well as the client, with which there is a contract to obtain gas in the local market.
He explained that the initial approval on the import licenses is renewed every six months, and the companies applying to import gas have not taken any real steps to obtain the final licenses.
The private sector companies that obtained initial approvals are Energy Fleet, headed by Essam Kafafy, located in Panama, in addition to BB Energy, owned by a Lebanese Family, located in London. In addition, Taqa Arabia, owned by several funding gulf companies, in cooperation with Egyptian Qalaa Company.
EGAS has renewed the approvals for the companies BB, Taqa and Fleet Energy on the licenses for natural or liquefied gas importation to provide it within the local market, after the licenses expired and the companies did not submit the required data to obtain the licenses.
A source at EGAS told Daily News Egypt that the three companies that obtained the initial approvals for the licenses have not submitted the data related to the importation body and the supplied amounts, as well as the client, with which there is a contract to obtain gas in the local market.
He explained that the initial approval on the import licenses is renewed every six months, and the companies applying to import gas have not taken any real steps to obtain the final licenses.
The private sector companies that obtained initial approvals are Energy Fleet, headed by Essam Kafafy, located in Panama, in addition to BB Energy, owned by a Lebanese Family, located in London. In addition, Taqa Arabia, owned by several funding gulf companies, in cooperation with Egyptian Qalaa Company.
Italy's Eni boosts output at Egypt's Zohr gas field to 57 million cu m/d - PLATTS
Author: Stuart Elliott; Editor: Jon Fox
London — Italy's Eni has increased production at its supergiant Zohr field offshore Egypt to 2 Bcf/d (57 million cu m/d) following the startup of the project's fifth production unit.
Zohr started production in December 2017 -- just 28 months after its discovery -- and is on track to reach plateau production of 2.7 Bcf/d next year.
The production peak -- the equivalent of almost 29 Bcm/year -- would represent more than half of Egypt's current gas demand of around 52 Bcm.
Egypt -- which until recently was a fairly stable exporter of both LNG and pipeline gas -- began importing LNG in April 2015 to fill a growing supply-demand gap caused by a major slowdown in domestic gas development.
But with the startup of Zohr and other gas fields in Egypt, the country expects to halt LNG imports by the end of 2018 and become an exporter of gas again in 2019.
"Zohr [...] is playing a fundamental role in supporting Egypt's independence from LNG imports," Eni said.
Zohr is the largest deepwater gas field offshore Egypt, and the biggest discovered to date in the Mediterranean with an estimated 850 Bcm (30 Tcf) of reserves.
It is located within the offshore Shorouk block 190km north of Port Said.
Eni holds a 50% stake in the block together with Russia's Rosneft (30%), BP (10%) and the UAE's Mubadala Petroleum (10%).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)