Israel, Cyprus, Greece and Italy agree on $7b. East Med gas pipeline to Europe - THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

24 November 2018, 10:03 pm

Greece, Italy, and Cyprus have reached an agreement with Israel to lay a pipeline connecting the Jewish state’s gas reserves to the three countries, in a major project estimated at costing over $7 billion that will supply gas from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe, as the continent seeks to diversify its energy supply.

According to Hadashot TV, the European Union agreed to invest $100 million in a feasibility study for the project before the agreement was reached over the laying of the longest and deepest underwater gas pipeline in the world.

As part of the agreement, Israel and Cyprus will be granted preference over other countries in exporting gas to the European market, according to the report.

The EastMed Pipeline Project is to start about 170 kilometers (105 miles) off Cyprus’s southern coast and stretch for 2,200 kilometers (1,350 miles) to reach Otranto, Italy, via Crete and the Greek mainland.

The pipeline will have the capacity to carry up to 20 billion cubic meters (706 billion cubic feet) of gas yearly. Europe’s gas import needs are projected to increase by 100 billion cubic meters (3.5 billion cubic feet) annually by 2030.

Work on the project is expected to begin within a few months, and to conclude within five years, Hadashot TV reported.

EastMed pipeline to be ready in 2025, if all goes well - IBNA

23 November 2018, 11:09

Nefeli Tzanetakou

According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, final decisions on the EastMed pipeline will be made in 2019, once a study on the project’s commercial feasibility is complete, while Israel, Cyprus and Greece are expected to sign an intergovernmental agreement in the upcoming period.

If, according to the study, gas demand in Europe and energy market forecasts justify the need to complete the project, in this case the 2,000-kilometer underwater pipeline – worth an estimated 6.75 billion dollars – we be ready for operation in 2025.

The political feasibility of the project is undoubtable, as the East Med pipeline will connect – at all levels - the Eastern Mediterranean with Europe.

Energy Min Stathakis inaugurates LNG expansion project in Revithousa - ANA-MPA

22 Νοεμβρίου 2018, 20:21:26

Greece on Thursday officially inaugurated the third tank of LNG in Revithousa. Environment and Energy Minister George Stathakis, addressing the inauguration ceremony said the project was creating new data in the natural gas market.

Presenting the government’s policy on natural gas, Stathakis said it was focusing on preserving networks under state control and their expansion in 18 regional cities, strengthening interconnections in the Balkans with projects such as the IGB pipeline and an intention to interconnect with FYROM, transforming Greece into a natural gas hub. He added that DESFA is playing a strategic role in this policy.

The Revithousa LNG terminal is one of the 13 operating in Europe and the only one in the Balkans. With the addition of the third tank the terminal’s capacity rises from 130,000 to 225,000 cubic meters, or 1,000-1,400 cubic meters per hour. The project also included an upgrading of port installations allowing biggest ships to dock (260,000 dwt from 180,000 currently). The project’s budget totalled 143 million euros, using community funds (35 pct), loans worth 80 million euros from the European Investment Bank and DESFA’s own capital.

Eni finishes drilling ninth well in Zohr field - ENTERPRISE

Wednesday, 21 November 2018

Italy’s Eni has completed drilling work on Zohr’s ninth deepwater well at a cost of USD 300 mn, according to an industry source. Early tests put initial production levels at 150 mcf/d.

The well was closed after the company finished drilling due lack of capacity at the treatment plant, but will enter production by the end of the year once the sixth gas treatment plant is completed. 

Production from the ninth well will increase Eni’s Zohr production to 2.25 bcf/d. Zohr’s total output will reportedly reach 2.95 bcf/d by the time the field’s development is complete in July 2019. 

Eni had previously estimated the field’s final output would reach 2.7 bcf/d.

Israeli Gas Exports to Egypt Will Initially Flow Through pan-Arab Pipeline - HAARETZ / REUTERS

Nov 20, 2018 4:19 AM

Ora Coren

When exports of Israeli natural gas to Egypt being sometime in the first half of next year, they won’t be going through the EMG pipeline in Sinai but through Israel’s domestic network and then on to the so-called pan-Arab pipeline.

Yossi Abu, chief executive of Delek Drilling, a partner in the two Israeli gas fields that will be selling energy to Egypt, said the EMG pipeline would only be used at a later stage. Later still, he said, gas from Israel’s Tamar and Leviathan fields would be delivered directly to EMG, thereby avoiding the Israeli domestic pipeline network altogether.

Speaking at an energy conference, Abu expressed optimism regarding exports not only to Egypt but to elsewhere in the region. Apart from exports to Egypt, he said the pipeline between Israel and Jordan would begin pumping in May or June next year and be fully operational by the end of 2019, ahead of schedule.

“We’ve succeeded in opening up the Egyptian economy, but that’s just the start,” Abu said. “There’s a lot to do on a regional level and that way become a global player.”

Abu spoke as Ron Adam, a Foreign Ministry official, told the conference that a decision on a Mediterranean gas pipeline linking Israel to Italy via Cyprus and Greece would be made next year after a market survey was completed.

If the survey reveals there is demand from European customers, the projected 2,100-kilometer, 25-billion-shekel ($6.75 billion) pipeline would come on line in 2025. An agreement between all the countries involved is expected to be signed at the end of the month.

Mathios Rigas' presentation at the 16th Israel Business and Energy Convention - ENERGEAN OIL & GAS

 

TurkStream: Who profits, who loses out? - DW

19.Nov.2018

Nik Martin

As Turkey and Russia inaugurate the sea section of the TurkStream gas pipeline, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can boast of Ankara's new geopolitical influence. DW asks why the pipeline is causing such a fuss.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday marked the completion of the offshore phase of TurkStream, a natural gas pipeline connecting the two countries.

Erdogan told reporters TurkStream would be ready to operate in 2019 after tests are carried out, while Putin said the pipeline would make Turkey a "major European hub." The tie-up with Moscow would "without a doubt influence the geopolitical standing of the Turkish Republic."

The new energy cooperation comes despite Moscow severing ties with Ankara three years ago after a Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian warplane on the Syrian border.

Turkish claims in East Med unveiled in maps - KATHIMERINI

18 NOVEMBER 2018 : 21:16

Angelos Syrigos, Vassilis Nedos

With drilling under way in Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone, Kathimerini has seen seven maps outlining Turkey’s claims in the Eastern Mediterranean, revealing its intentions in the region.

The maps, which have been cited in recent weeks by Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, suggest that any others in the region considering the demarcation of maritime regions would have to consult with Turkey first.

However, the delineations on the maps only take into consideration Turkey and the mainlands of other countries facing its shores – ignoring the islands in between, such Rhodes, Karpathos and Crete, not to mention Cyprus.

The maps were created between 2010 and 2012, before Cyprus’s demarcation agreements with Egypt in 2003, Lebanon in 2007 and Israel in 2010.

These deals allowed Cyprus to delimit its exclusive economic zone in its southern and southeastern seas. Subsequently, it divided most of its maritime areas into 13 parts and proceeded with international tenders for their exploration and exploitation.

Undersea gas fires Egypt’s regional energy dreams - TIMES OF ISRAEL

NOVEMBER 18, 2018, 11:00 am

Mona Salem

Newly flowing gas from four Mediterranean fields, including the vast Zohr field, as well as deals with Israel and Cyprus, has helped ease Cairo’s financial woes

CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — Egypt is looking to use its vast, newly tapped undersea gas reserves to establish itself as a key energy exporter and revive its flagging economy.

Encouraged by the discovery of huge natural gas fields in the Mediterranean, Cairo has in recent months signed gas deals with neighboring Israel as well as Cyprus and Greece.

Former oil minister Osama Kamal said Egypt has a “plan to become a regional energy hub.”

In the past year, gas has started flowing from four major fields off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, including the vast Zohr field, inaugurated with great ceremony by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.