CYPRUS: First private power station promises cheaper electricity bills - FINANCIAL MIRROR

15 February, 2019

Cyprus’ energy sector is on the verge of radical changes with the construction of the island’s first private power plant as entrepreneurs promise to deliver cheaper and cleaner energy to households and businesses.

One such newcomer is Power Energy Cyprus (PEC) Ltd. It has laid the foundation stone on Friday for its EUR 200 mln power plant, the first private venture for producing energy with conventional fuel, in the presence of President Nicos Anastasiades.

PEC plans to produce about a quarter of the island’s present capacity, slightly more than what renewable sources (solar parks and wind farms) already contribute to the energy mix. It will bring the cost of energy down as the combined circle power station is to run primarily on natural gas.

The company’s pledge to consumers and businesses was backed by President Anastasiades who stated that the new power plant to be built in Vassiliko (Limassol) will help to reduce the price of electricity.

Winners for Egyptian oil and gas exploration round announced - ZAWYA

14 FEBRUARY, 2019Marwa Abo Almajd

Shell, ExxonMobil, BP, Petronas and IEOC among the firms to secure exploration rights in 12 concessions

The head of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation announced the winners of 12 new concessions at an event in Cairo on Tuesday, stating that $750 million to $800 million worth of investments would be made.

The General Petroleum Company (GPC) won a $5 million tender to explore in the West Amer sector, allowing it to drill 10 new wells, involving a total investment of $20 million.

Neptune Energy Egypt won an $11 million concession for the drilling of three wells and a financial commitment of $ 34.5 million. Merlon Petroleum won a $3.2 million tender to drill eight wells and an investment of $36 million.

Shell Egypt won three separate concessions. The first is a $27 million tender in the West Fayoum field, involving the drilling of six wells, the second is a $23 million tender to dig five wells south-east of Horus and the third is a $1 million tender to drill three wells in South Abu Sinan. Combined, the tenders involve a capital commitment to invest $57 million.

Energy minister quashes rumours of gas find in block 10 - CYPRUS MAIL

February 14, 2019 

Elias Hazou

Exploratory drilling for gas by ExxonMobil in offshore block 10 is ongoing, and announcements will be made once the operations have been concluded, the government said on Thursday.

The energy ministry was addressing a number of media reports over the past few days claiming the US oil giant has struck it big at the Glafcos-1 drill site.

In a brief statement, the ministry reiterated that drilling is still going on and that therefore the results are not known.

An official announcement would be made once the operations were over, it added.

Local media outlets were reporting that ExxonMobil had found a sizeable, though not massive, reserve at their second drilling target in block 10.

The reserve was said to hold at least 2.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas – the minimum amount required to make it commercially viable.

The reports claimed to be citing “industry sources.”

EGAS, EGPC 2018 Bid Rounds results announced with 12 blocks awarded - ENERGY EGYPT

FEBRUARY 13, 2019 AT 3:10 AM

Shell wins big in Egypt: Supermajor lands five blocks in latest bid round, while ExxonMobil makes debut.

Royal Dutch Shell, Eni, BP and Exxon Mobil were among the winners in one of Egypt’s largest ever oil and gas exploration tenders on Tuesday, as the country looks to sustain an investment upswing spurred by major discoveries.

The awards marked Exxon Mobil’s entry into gas exploration in Egypt, while Shell was handed the most concessions, three for oil and two for gas, at an annual petroleum show that Egypt has used to promote itself as a hub for gas production and trading in the Eastern Mediterranean.

BP Begins Gas Production From Phase 2 of West Nile Delta Project - SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS

13 February 2019

Gas is flowing in the second phase of the West Nile Delta development offshore Egypt, operator BP reported this week. Production, currently at around 400 MMcf/D, is expected to reach 700 MMcf/D at peak.

Developed as a long-distance deepwater tieback to an onshore plant, the second phase includes eight wells producing from the Giza and Fayoum fields. The West Nile Delta project as a whole consists of five gas fields across the North Alexandria and West Mediterranean Deepwater offshore concessions, 65–85 km off Alexandria.

Phase 1 of the project, launched last year, consists of gas production from the Taurus and Libra fields. The first two phases target gas in the Pliocene formations. A third phase developing the Raven field, which holds gas in the deeper Miocene formations, is also expected to come on stream this year.

Combined production from all phases of the West Nile Delta project is expected to approach 1.4 Bcf/D, equivalent to about 20% of Egypt’s current gas production. All of the gas produced will be fed into the country’s national gas grid, the operator said.

Egypt says “NO” to East Med - IBNA

13 February 2019, 11:30

Nefeli Tzanetakou

The East Med gas pipeline received an unequivocal "no" from Egypt.

Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, in an interview with the Cyprus News Agency, said he was opposed to the transportation of gas from East Mediterranean to Europe via the East Med pipeline.

He even justified his position by saying that the feasibility study for this project would last up to two years, which in itself is a luxury the region of Eastern Mediterranean can no longer afford.

"I would say there are many options for Eastern Mediterranean. However, we believe that Egypt is the best choice both economically and politically. Existing facilities and infrastructure for LNG processing and storage provide Egypt with a competitive advantage, as each existing facility will cost about USD 10 billion to be realized, thus making it the most economical option. In addition, Egyptian policy is the open market and the pursuit of maximum benefit for all parties, both for producers and for consumers. We encourage choices that can help producers exploit their resources and consumers to secure their needs in the most efficient, fast and sustainable way and at the lowest cost", the Egyptian official said.

ExxonMobil to reportedly announce large discovery in Cyprus' plot 10 next week - KATHIMERINI

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 13, 2019, 20:23

American energy giant ExxonMobil is expected to announce a discovery of a large gas reserve in plot 10 of Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) next week, according to Cyprus' Sigma Live news network.

The Cypriot station referred to a report by Italy's Agenzia Nova that cited a high-level Cypriot source at the the Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS) in Cairo which ended on Wednesday.

The source, which reportedly spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the reserve isn't as large as the Zohr gas field in the Egyptian sector of the Mediterranean Sea but “has a similar reserve.”

UAE’s Dana Gas to drill in what could be Egypt’s next mega gas field - GULF BUSINESS / REUTERS

Wednesday 13 February 2019

Dana Gas will begin drilling this year in an area it says could become Egypt’s next giant Mediterranean gas field, after seismic data pointed to reserves as large as 20 trillion cubic feet.

That data will be put to the test beginning in April or May, when it expects to start drilling an area that could hold 4-6 trillion cubic feet of gas, Dana Gas CEO Patrick Allman-Ward told Reuters on the sidelines of an energy forum on Tuesday.

“If the geology works out the way that we think it will, then in the success case it could be a 4-6 trillion cubic feet gas reserve,” Allman-Ward said

“And that’s just that one prospect,” he said of the area of a North Arish field located in the eastern Mediterranean Sea which is one of three Dana Gas has homed in on within its Block 6 after it was licensed to explore in 2014.

“All three together could be as much as 20 trillion cubic feet,” Allman-Ward said.

DEA awarded new licence in the Onshore Nile Delta - DEA

Cairo, 12.02.2019

The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) has awarded one new licence to DEA in its 2018 Bid Round. The East Damanhour exploration block (originally offered as Block 10) is covering 1,418 square kilometres and is located west of the Disouq development leases, where DEA is the operator with a licence share of 100%.

“We are pleased with the award of this licence, which is in line with our ambition to strengthen our business in Egypt,” says Sameh Sabry, DEA’s General Manager in Egypt. “The block is located in DEA’s core region in the Onshore Nile Delta, where we successfully explore the Messinian and Pliocene plays as operator since 2004. The extensive knowledge and experience we gained over the years, the right set of skilled experts and our nearby infrastructure will offer us very good conditions to continue this exploration efficiently”, Sabry adds. 

“The proximity of DEA’s Disouq central processing plant and infrastructure provides us with an operational edge, which would enable accelerated development of any discovered volumes as well as considerable synergies and cost optimizations. In addition, the block offers significant potential in pre-Messinian structures, which is in line with our ambition to further grow in Egypt”, underlines Sameh Sabry.


DEA is planning to drill 5 to 7 exploration wells in Block 10 during the first exploration phase of 3 years.

EGYPS Day 1 Highlights - ENTERPRISE

Tuesday, 12 February 2019

New, investor-friendly production-sharing agreements are in the spotlight as gov’t pushes Egypt as a regional energy hub. The three-day Egypt Petroleum Show, which got underway yesterday, is best thought of as the physical embodiment of the Sisi administration’s strategy to position Egypt as the premier eastern Mediterranean energy hub. Domestic and international media offered wall-to-wall coverage.

If you read nothing else, read this from Reuters: “Egypt’s gas output will get a boost this year as the country’s huge Zohr field nears peak production and with USD 1.8 bn in investment from BP, officials said on Monday, as Egypt returns to export markets and positions itself as a regional hub.” Egypt is leveraging its “strategic location and well-developed infrastructure to become a key international trading and distribution center for gas, a potentially remarkable turnaround for a country that spent about USD 3 bn on annual liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports as recently as 2016.”

Digging into the highlights from yesterday:

All set for Israeli gas coming to Egypt except one little thing: Israel has no enough pipeline capacity - ENTERPRISE

Tuesday, 12 February 2019

Israel is struggling to find a way to export its gas to Egypt. The southern Israeli gas pipeline that is meant to carry gas from the Leviathan and Tamar fields to the East Mediterranean Gas (EMG) pipeline into Egypt does not have the capacity to carry the volumes the fields’ partners have contracted to sell to Egypt, Haartez reports. Under the USD 15 bn contract with Dolphinus Holdings (a group fronted by the industrialist Alaa Arafa), Delek Group and Noble Energy should deliver 3.5 bcm from each field for a combined total of 7 bcm — but the Israeli pipeline’s current capacity does not exceed 3 bcm, the Israeli newspaper says. “Israel’s Natural Gas Authority added to the problem after it made clear that the pipeline couldn’t handle even that amount. In an announcement, the authority said that it couldn’t promise continuous access to the pipeline, but only when capacity was available.”

Cyprus-Egypt Aphrodite Gas Field Lures Investors - THE NATIONAL HERALD

Cypriot Parliamentary Speaker Demetris Syllouris, center, with
counterparts Ali Abdel-Aal of Egypt, right, and Nikos Voutsis of Greece,
left, talk during a press conference i the parliament house in capital
Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, Feb. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

February 11, 2019

NICOSIA – A deal between Egypt and Cyprus to develop the Aphrodite gas field off the island’s coast is drawing keen interest from international oil companies, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla said.

In an interview with the Cyprus News Agency, he said the gas pipeline between the countries will see a commercial agreement coming that would be lucrative for the countries as part of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum.

He said there are political benefits with money being an equalizer and that with so many countries linked to the field’s findings that the multi-national aspects could show the world that the often volatile region is “the most ready option with the least risk” for gas supply of Europe.

As for the option of East Med pipeline between Cyprus, Greece, Israel and Italy, he said that the feasibility study for the project would take up to two years, “which in itself is a luxury the region can’t afford any more,” saying the Egyptian model is better.

Israel attacks Total for investment stance - FINANCIAL TIMES

LONDON, 10 February 2019

David Sheppard and David Keohane

Israel has attacked French energy major Total after its chief executive told the Financial Times that it was too “complex” a country to invest in.

Israel’s energy minister Yuval Steinitz, who was visiting London to drum up interest in the country’s next gas licensing round and discuss energy co-operation, said companies such as Total that refused to invest in Israel were living in “past decades” and were in hock to the “tyranny and dictatorship” of Tehran.

“I reject it with two hands, I think this is a miserable view,” Mr Steinitz told the Financial Times.

“We will consider our reaction to this as it is totally unacceptable, to boycott [Israel].”

Patrick Pouyanné, Total chief executive, told the FT in an interview that it was too “complex” to invest in Israel despite the country’s growing role as a gas producer, indicating his company’s relationships with other states in the Middle East was a sticking point.

ExxonMobil’s drilling in context - CYPRUS MAIL

FEBRUARY 10, 2019

As ExxonMobil approaches the end its drilling campaign, rumours about the results abounded this week as have the extravagance of some of the claims. So let’s put what we know in context. What I present below is based on information, seismic data, satellite data, even hearsay, but we all need to be mindful that so far ExxonMobil has not made any announcements.

Results so far

It appears that Delphine has not struck commercial quantities of gas, but it is likely to have encountered gas presence. Even though disappointing, given expectations, this does not mean that there is no gas in the reservoir. This can only be ascertained by evaluating the results from Delphine and potentially carrying out further drilling in the vicinity of this target. Seismic and satellite data show a strong potential for a substantial gas reservoir at this location. We need to wait and see what ExxonMobil announces.