Energy News Monitor | Volume XV; Issue 30 - OBSERVER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

JAN 05 2019

Israel, Greece and Cyprus will sign an agreement early next year to build a pipeline to carry natural gas from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe, while the United States pledged its support for the ambitious project. The $7 billion project, expected to take six or seven years to complete, promises to reshape the region as an energy provider and dent Russia's dominance over the European energy market. Israel has been developing natural gas fields off its Mediterranean coast for the past decade. Its "Tamar" field already is operational, while the larger "Leviathan" field is expected to be operational next year. While most of its gas is used domestically, it has signed export deals with Egypt and Jordan and has its eyes on the larger European market. The proposed pipeline would allow Israel and Cyprus to export their recently discovered offshore reserves to Italy and eventually to the rest of Europe. Greece, which would act as a conduit for the gas to the continent, could also use the pipeline to convey any hydrocarbons potentially found in its own waters.

Exxon drilling due to re-start after delay, president says - CYPRUS MAIL

Anastasiades (C), Tsipras (L), Netanyahu (R), with spouses
December 20, 2018, Israel

JANUARY 4, 2019 

Peter Michael

ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum’s drilling activities in block 10 will re-start before the weekend is over President Nicos Anastasiades said on Friday, after reports said activity ceased for 10-days due to a technical difficulty.

In statements to CyBC, the president confirmed the technical issue, but added that it would be solved before long. “The essence is that the energy plans move forward in regards to the research stage,” Anastasiades said.

He added the agreement on the Aphrodite field in block 12 of Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) needed to be completed and that the cooperation of the companies working in the area and the states needed to be secured.

“The government’s hope is that the French company Total will also be involved in the other blocks.”

Regarding research in block 10, the president added that the research stage was advanced and that after drilling in the block’s Delphine target, a second drilling would be conducted in the block’s Glafcos target.

Egypt's Sissi Confirms Unprecedented Military Cooperation With Israel - HAARETZ

Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, Africa 2018 Forum, Egypt December 9, 2018

Jan 04, 2019 5:21 PM

• Egyptian president addresses cooperation against militants in Sinai in interview for CBS
• Cairo's envoy to the U.S. asks that the interview be withheld from broadcast

Egypt's military cooperation with Israel has reached unprecedented levels, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi told CBS News in an interview scheduled to air Sunday.

Sissi was referring primarily to security cooperation against militants in the northern Sinai – cooperation that Egypt has until now avoided discussing publicly.

Asked whether cooperation between the sides can be described as the "closest ever," Sissi said: "That is correct…We have a wide range of cooperation with the Israelis."

Gastrade closes Alexandroupolis FSRU market test - LNG WORLD NEWS

January 3, 2019

Greece’s Gastrade said it has completed the first phase of the market test for the reservation of regasification capacity at the proposed floating LNG import terminal in Alexandroupolis.

Twenty companies submitted expressions of interest for a total of up to 12.2 billion cubic meters/year of regasification capacity reservation at the floating terminal and delivery to the Greek national natural gas transmission system.

These gas quantities will be directed towards the markets of the wider Southeastern European region, Gastrade said, adding that the expressions of interest surpassed the technical capacity of the project which is designed at 5.5 bcm/year.

“The highly successful outcome of the first phase of the market test and the great interest expressed for the Alexandroupolis LNG project by many important regional and international gas players is an essential step for the implementation of the project and ultimately for the upgrade of the energy position and the energy supply diversification of Greece, Bulgaria and the SE Europe as a whole,” said Konstantinos Spyropoulos, managing director of Gastrade.

Cyprus protests to UN over Turkish provocations in its EEZ - FINANCIAL MIRROR

03 January, 2019

Cyprus has lodged a protest against Turkey’s “provocative actions” within its Exclusive Economic Zone to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

In a letter circulated as an official document of the UN General Assembly, Cyprus’ Permanent Representative to the UN Kornelios Korneliou focused on the illegal activities of Turkish research vessel Barbaros.

“On 18 October 2018, the Turkish State-owned survey vessel Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa and supporting vessels, accompanied and supported by Turkish warships, commenced seismic surveys in the southwest areas of the continental shelf/EEZ of Cyprus, including within parts of hydrocarbon exploration blocks 4 and 5,” Korneliou said.

“The area has purportedly been reserved for seismic surveys by Turkey, via an unauthorized navigational warning dated 16 October, for the period from 18 October 2018 to 1 February 2019,” he noted.

The Cypriot diplomat said this “constitutes a violation by Turkey of the sovereign rights of Cyprus under international law and, in particular, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the relevant provisions of which have long been crystallized into customary international law.”

Gov’t puts pen to paper on strategy for Egypt’s energy hub ambitions - ENTERPRISE

Thursday, 3 January 2019

Gov’t puts pen to paper on EastMed energy hub strategy: A government committee has drafted a strategy to advance Egypt’s plan to become the premier energy hub in the Eastern Mediterranean region, according to a Cabinet statement. The strategy involves studying and benchmarking similar projects elsewhere, conducting a cost–benefit analysis, and devising short- and long-term action plans. We could also see our ports become the first to set up natural gas marine fuel stations along the eastern Mediterranean. The committee will hand its recommendation to cabinet for review.

This comes as friendlier oil and gas contracts are set to take effect this quarter: We had noted last October that the Oil Ministry is planning to roll out new production sharing contracts with friendlier terms for international oil companies. The new framework, which is set to take effect this quarter, would grant the companies a larger share of the output and allow them to sell their share of production to anyone they like. This would replace the current, more rigid system, which gives producers only one-third of output and sets the government as the only buyer of their share of production at preset prices. Taken with a push — emphasized last week by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi — for more refining capacity as well as for the repayment of arrears to E&P companies, the move could significantly improve an already bright climate for oil and gas players in Egypt.

Egypt exporting 520 mln cubic feet of LNG per day from Idku plant - official - REUTERS

JANUARY 2, 2019 / 11:03 AM

CAIRO, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Egypt is currently exporting 520 million cubic feet of liquified natural gas (LNG) per day from its Idku export plant, a petroleum ministry official said on Wednesday.

The country had been exporting 300 million cubic feet of LNG, the official said.

The gas is exported by Malaysia’s Petronas, Royal Dutch Shell, and Egypt’s two main state oil and gas companies.

TEKMOR Note: The Idku Natural Gas Liquefaction Company is co-owned by:

• The Egyptian Gas Holding Co 12%
• The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation 12%
• Royal Dutch Shell (via BG acquisition) 38%
• PETRONAS 38%

(Reporting by Ahmed Ismail; Writing by Nadine Awadalla; editing by Louise Heavens)

Energean signs additional Gas Sales and Purchase Agreement for Karish and Tanin - ENERGEAN OIL & GAS

London, 2 January 2019

How Greece Will Benefit from East Med Gas Pipeline - GREEK REPORTER

Jan 1, 2019
Philip Chrysopoulos

Greece will definitely benefit from the recent agreement with Israel and Cyprus for the construction of the East Med gas pipeline, according to a report in the German financial newspaper Handelsblatt.

The proposed pipeline will transport natural gas from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe. The cooperative agreement was recently signed by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades.

Talks between the three nations on the issue began in 2015 and have progressed to a solid alliance, according to Handelsblatt. The three Mediterranean countries aim to intensify their cooperation and make it permanent with the establishment of a joint secretariat based in Cyprus.

The newspaper notes that the enormous reserves of natural gas believed to be under the eastern Mediterranean seabed could contribute substantially to the energy supply of the whole of Western Europe.

Dana Gas receives additional $44m payment from Egypt - ARABIAN BUSINESS

Mon 31 Dec 2018 08:28 AM

Total payments from Egypt $88m in Q4 and $199m year to date

Dana Gas, UAE-based natural gas company, received an additional overdue payment of $44.3 million (AED 162.4m) from its operations in Egypt this week.

This payment is made up of an additional $35 million industry payment from the government and $9.3 million from the sale of 157,350 barrels of El Wastani condensate.

Dana Gas said it has now received two payments worth $55 million (AED 202m) in December from the Egyptian government towards overdue receivables.

The shipment of El Wastani condensate is the fifth shipment of condensate sales in 2018, resulting in total collections of $54million from condensate shipments from Egypt in 2018.

Total receipts from Egypt has reached $199 million (AED 729m) year to date compared to $164 million (AED 600m) in 2017, an increase of 21% year-on-year.

While the level of Dana Gas' receivables in Egypt are now at its lowest since 2011, it said it's hoping for further improvement in payments that will reduce the level to zero as agreed.

For gas prospects, much hangs on restarting negotiations in 2019 - CYPRUS MAIL

DECEMBER 30, 2018
Charles Ellinas

With drilling in Cyprus coming to its climax early in the year, Egypt forging ahead, Leviathan coming on stream in Israel and exploration in full swing in Lebanon, 2019 promises to be another bumper year for East Med natural gas.

Egypt will carry on building on the success of the last three years, with more gas discoveries and exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Eni is expected to announce a major new gas discovery at the Noor prospect, about 50 km offshore Sinai. Together with a number of smaller gas fields, this will bolster Egypt’s gas production and support LNG exports.

Eni will raise production at the Zohr gasfield to 32 bcm/yr by the end of 2019, up 5 bcm/yr from the originally planned production plateau, in the final phase of this remarkable project. This additional gas from Zohr will be destined for liquefaction and export through the Damietta LNG plant, mostly to Italy.

Shell is already exporting 3 bcm/yr from its Idku LNG plant and is in advanced negotiations with Noble Energy to bring gas from Cyprus’ Aphrodite gasfield to fill the remaining 7 bcm/yr unutilised capacity of the plant. However, the fraught political situation in Cyprus and the increasing intensity of threats from Turkey may yet delay this.