Friday, March 29, 2019

NOC, Eni sign agreement to boost gas production - THE LIBYA OBSERVER

March 29, 2019 - 14:20

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) and Italian oil major Eni signed on March 25 two memoranda of understanding (MoU), at NOC’s Tripoli headquarters. The first concerned the establishment of a steering committee to expedite gas production at structures ‘A’ and ‘E’ within maritime concession MN 41 in the Sabratha marine basin.

The steering committee will oversee the timely and transparent implementation of this project, in line with best-practice good governance, and will work to alleviate difficulties facing project implementation. This important strategic project will provide gas to meet both local consumption and export requirements. Once complete, project capacity from both structures will total 760 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

The second MoU agrees to jointly fund capacity building programmes for industrial security staff at NOC and Mellitah Oil and Gas Company (MOGCO), with workshops focusing on risk assessment and mitigation, crisis management, and comprehensive field inspection procedures.

During the signing ceremony, Eng. Sanalla commented: “Eni is one of NOC’s strategic partners and one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, renowned for its expertise and technological capabilities that we seek to bring to Libya. Our sector is the backbone of the national economy - we should preserve it for future generations. We have to work on developing the sector in order to increase production and fuel development.”

Thursday, March 28, 2019

Cyprus, Greece, Israel alliance serves US interests - KATHIMERINI

28.03.2019 : 08:20
ENDY ZEMENIDES, DAVID HARRIS

Long ago, the Mediterranean was known as the Middle Sea, because for centuries it provided the principal means of communication between empires and civilizations. Today’s Mediterranean is reclaiming much of that historic legacy.

The limitless potential of the region was on full display during the sixth trilateral summit between Cyprus, Greece and Israel that took place in Jerusalem last week. The gathering was especially noteworthy because the United States, represented by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, also participated for the first time.

American strategic interests face challenges around the Eastern Mediterranean basin. The Shia-Sunni divide that has helped put the Middle East in even deeper turmoil is playing out on its shores, with the involvement of both state and non-state actors.

Turkey – once a paragon of stability and a source of great optimism for many in the West – has become increasingly authoritarian and unreliable. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s strong-arm leadership has turned a “zero problems with neighbors” foreign policy into one where Ankara has zero neighbors with which it doesn’t have problems.

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Egypt puts eased rules for energy companies to use their production share from new Red Sea concessions - ENTERPRISE

Wednesday, 27 March 2019

Companies awarded concessions in Red Sea bid round can sell at home or abroad: The South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company (Ganope) will allow companies awarded concessions in the ongoing Red Sea bid round to decide what to do with their share of output, Al Shorouk reports. Companies looking to sell natural gas to third parties inside Egypt will be required to get approvals from Ganope, EGAS, and EGPC, as well as further approvals from the oil minister on the quantities, price, and sales contract. Any exports of natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from these concessions will also require ministerial sign-off on the quantities and price.

Background: Egypt launched a tender earlier this month for 10 oil and gas exploration blocks off the Red Sea coast under a new production sharing contract, according to a Ganope statement (pdf). The Oil Ministry has been reportedly planning to roll out new production sharing contracts with friendlier terms for international oil companies this quarter.

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Israeli Gas Partners in Talks to Boost Supply to Egypt - BLOOMBERG

March 26, 2019, 3:51 PM GMT+2
Yaacov Benmeleh
  • Delek CEO was recently in Cairo to discuss new gas quantities
  • Shares of Delek climb the most in nearly 3 months on the news
The companies developing Israel’s largest natural gas field are in discussions to increase the amount of supply to Egypt beyond the $15 billion deal inked last year. Shares of Israeli gas stocks rose.

Executives at Delek Drilling LP, the majority shareholder in the Leviathan reservoir, have been in Cairo in recent weeks to discuss how to boost quantities for Egypt’s domestic consumption, Chief Executive Officer Yossi Abu said Tuesday at an investor conference in Tel Aviv. Delek and its partners Noble Energy Inc. and Ratio Oil Exploration 1992 LP are examining ways to increase the field’s capacity to meet an expected increase in Egyptian demand, he said.

Monday, March 25, 2019

FM outlines Cyprus’ vision to establish a regional security and cooperation organisation - IN-CYPRUS PHILELEFTHEROS

March 25, 2019 at 8:45am
Edited by Andreas Nicolaides

Foreign Minister, Nikos Christodoulides, outlined Cyprus’ vision to establish an organization of security and cooperation in the region, speaking on Sunday in Washington, during a discussion held in the framework of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference.

He said that Cyprus’ vision is to create a regional security and cooperation organisation, with the participation of all like-minded countries, in the framework of which all regional matters of cooperation will be discussed.

Secretary General of the Organization of American States Luis Almagro and AIPAC’s International Affairs Director Stephen Schneider coordinated the discussion.

Replying to a question the Cypriot Foreign Minister set out the framework of relations between Cyprus and Israel, as a threefold one.

On the bilateral level, he noted the close cooperation between the two countries, which extends beyond the energy sector to matters of security, technology and health. He added that contact between their peoples is also enhanced.

Pompeo and circumstance won't make EastMed pipeline a reality - THE JERUSALEM POST

MARCH 25, 2019 00:04 
GABRIEL MITCHELL 

The reduced presence of the US Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean coincided with increased maritime tensions across the region.

With the Purim holiday last week, many took a break from the country’s exhausting election cycle. But for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Wednesday evening was an opportunity to reinforce his position as Israel’s leading statesman. 

Hosting the sixth trilateral summit between Israel, Greece, and Cyprus, Netanyahu hoped special guest US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would deliver a strong showing of support for the embattled premier and his regional energy aspirations.
Significant regional developments have transpired since the last summit. In January 2019, Cypriot, Egyptian, Greek, Israeli, Italian, Jordanian and Palestinian energy ministers met in Cairo with the intention of establishing the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, an institution for regional energy cooperation. Coincidentally, the forum’s optimism was rewarded in recent weeks as major discoveries were made off the coasts of Cyprus and Egypt.

Exxon Mobil is reportedly considering future exploration in Israel’s waters.

Sunday, March 24, 2019

Billionaire Tshuva May Herald Next Step in Israel-Egypt Ties - BLOOMBERG

March 24, 2019, 7:47 PM GMT+2
Yaacov Benmeleh
  • Tshuva’s Delek eyes stakes in Egypt’s gas-liquefaction plants
  • Deal may help both nations explore ties beyond security
Delek Drilling LP, the Israeli energy explorer controlled by billionaire Yitzhak Tshuva, is considering buying a stake in an Egyptian liquefied natural gas plant to broaden its export footprint.

Acquiring a piece of either the Idku or Damietta facilities, operated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Spain’s Union Fenosa SA, respectively, is among the various routes possible for the Egyptian deal, the company said in its annual report on Sunday. Other options are buying capacity at the plants rather than equity stakes, or enrolling their gas liquefaction services.

Should Delek pull off the purchase, it would be the strongest signal yet that Israel and Egypt are moving beyond security cooperation and toward deeper economic ties. Though the neighbors signed a peace treaty 40 years ago, Israel remains unpopular to many Egyptians. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi didn’t even mention Israel when he celebrated a $15 billion deal in 2018 between the nations.

Israel's Delek exploring partnership with Egypt LNG plants - REUTERS

MARCH 24, 2019 / 1:47 PM

JERUSALEM, March 24 (Reuters) - Israel’s Delek Drilling said on Sunday it was exploring options to boost natural gas exports to Egypt, including the possibility of buying into a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the northern Egyptian coast.

Delek is a partner in offshore gas fields in Israel and Cyprus and has already signed export deals to Egypt.

The company said in its 2018 annual report that one channel to increase sales could be through LNG plants near Idku and Damietta along the Mediterranean coast, and that it was “examining various arrangements with the owners of the liquefaction facilities”.

This could include purchasing liquefaction capacity or even buying into the plants themselves, Delek said. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Tova Cohen)