Egypt- Zohr gas condensates production increases to 4,000 tonnes per day - MENAFN / DAILY NEWS EGYPT

APRIL/20/2019 7:17:08 PM

(MENAFN - Daily News Egypt) [The source] pointed out that completing the development of the second phase of Zohr will take place in June, increasing the total production capacity to 2.7bn scf/day.

He added that Eni aims to invest about $4bn in the development of the second phase of Zohr this year, increasing the company's total investments in the project to $16bn.

The source stressed that the ministry of petroleum seeks to speed up the implementation of the next phase of Zohr upon the directives of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to speed up connecting the project's production to the national grid.

Israel's Natural Gas Discoveries Are Bridging Political Divides And Are Forging Economic Ties - FORBES

Apr 18, 2019, 08:16am
Ken Silverstein

Even more natural gas has been found off Israel’s coastline, which may help shift the global energy paradigm. Greek oil and gas developer Energean has discovered what it says is between 28-42 billion cubic meters of natural gas, all on top of the 67 billion cubic meters that it has already located.

The discovery comes atop earlier ones a decade ago that are getting tapped and will be eventually distributed to former adversaries of Israel: Jordan and Egypt. And there are also plans to sell the natural gas to Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. Indeed, if Israel blossoms into a regional energy powerhouse, it could have profound implications for geopolitics — and possibly extend as far as East as Iraq.

East Med Gas Forum ‘evolving into international organisation’ - CYPRUS MAIL

APRIL 18 2019 

ELIAS HAZOU

The East Med Gas Forum (EMGF) will be meeting again in June with the purpose of evolving into an international organisation, energy minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said Thursday.

Speaking at the 9th Nicosia Economic Congress, Lakkotryrpis said that he hoped the forum – consisting of Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Territories – will take the form of an international organisation.

The forum is necessary in order for eastern Mediterranean gas to be competitive, while member states are discussing issues such as the preferred infrastructure for the optimal exploitation of hydrocarbons wealth.

The region faces many “challenges,” Lakkotrypis said, which is one of the reasons why the United States and the EU support are supporting the EMGF as observers.

'Whole new day' for Cyprus' relationship with US, says senator - KATHIMERINI

16.04.2019 : 11:35

Cyprus is in a position to “find a whole new day in its relationship with the United States and with the West,” US Senator Robert Menendez said during a visit to Nicosia on Tuesday.

The New Jersey senator's comments came after he held informal talks with Cyprus President Nikos Anastasiades during a visit that comes a week after he announced a bipartisan bill seeking to lift the US arms embargo on Cyprus, which has been in place since 1987.

The discussion with Anastasiades was “excellent, extensive and very positive,” Menendez said, according to Cypriot media.

“We talked about many important subjects; the Eastern Mediterranean’s security strategy and energy strategy, Cyprus’ continuous engagement with the United States, questions of our foreign policy in the region, economic questions, the changing dynamics of Cyprus in its banking zone,” the US senator was reported as saying.

Ambassador Pyatt’s Remarks at the 2nd Energy Union Leaders Academy Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation - US EMBASSY ATHENS GREECE

Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation

Panorama City Hall

April 12, 2019, 16:00

Let me start this short address by thanking the Greek Energy Forum and the American College of Thessaloniki for organizing this “Energy Union Future Leaders” Academy, bringing together young leaders from 18 countries to discuss the opportunities and challenges in the vitally important energy sector. I can’t think of a better location for this event than Thessaloniki, exactly at the moment that northern Greece is reestablishing its role as the commercial and energy hub of the Balkans. I’m also especially glad that this is happening on the campus of Anatolia College, which is really one of the hidden gems of the U.S. legacy of support in northern Greece, and I’m delighted to be on the campus on such a beautiful day.

Two of the Academy’s main objectives are the promotion of energy diversification and energy security, which happen to mirror priorities of the United States government. And I think the energy security of our European partners and allies has been a longstanding priority for the United States, but it’s only over the past few years, that Greece has become a real leader in these efforts. I know that the Greek Minister of Energy, Minister Stathakis, heard this message very clearly from our Secretary of State and our Secretary of Energy when he was in Houston last month, and Secretary Pompeo repeated a similar message when he recently participated in the first 3+1 summit meeting in Jerusalem with Prime Ministers Netanyahu, Anastasiadis, and Tsipras.

Significant New Gas Discovery at Karish North - ENERGEAN OIL & GAS

London, 15 April 2019 - Energean Oil and Gas plc (LSE: ENOG, TASE: אנאג) the oil and gas producer focused on the Mediterranean, is pleased to announce that the Karish North exploration well has made a significant gas discovery.

Preliminary analysis indicates:

• Initial gas in place estimates of between 1 Tcf (28 Bcm) and 1.5 Tcf (42 Bcm).
• High quality reservoir in the B and C sands.

The well reached an intermediate TD of 4,880 meters approximately 7 days ahead of schedule. A gross hydrocarbon column of up to 249 meters was encountered and a 27 meter core was recovered to surface. Further evaluation will now be undertaken to further refine resource potential and determine the liquids content of the discovery.

Drilling of the initial phase of the Karish North well is now complete. As planned, Energean will now deepen the well to evaluate hydrocarbon potential at the D4 horizon.

Once operations are completed on Karish North, the Stena DrillMAX will return to drilling the three Karish Main development wells. Following this four well programme, Energean has six drilling options remaining on its contract with Stena Drilling. 

The Karish North discovery will be commercialised via a tie-back to the Energean Power FPSO, which is located 5.4km from the Karish North well. The FPSO is being built with total processing and export capacity of 8 Bcm/yr (775 mmcf/d), which will enable Karish North, and future discoveries, to be monetised. 

‘We will no longer accept Turkey’s aggression’ - CYPRUS MAIL

APRIL 14, 2019

KATY TURNER

The US senator that introduced a bill in the Senate that covers concerns of Cyprus has said “We made it clear that we will no longer accept Turkey’s aggression in the Eastern Mediterranean region”.

Speaking to Phileleftheros on Sunday, Democratic senator Robert Menendez, of New Jersey, who heads the Democratic Group in the powerful International Relations Committee, underlined his interest and support for Cyprus.

He also stressed that the Americans “have to do more – we need to increase the support that will allow Greece to fulfill its commitments under NATO” and to lift the arms embargo against the Republic of Cyprus.

In 1987 the US placed restrictions on the transfer of arms and defensive material to Cyprus in an attempt to encourage reunification efforts and to avoid an arms race on the island.

Menendez and Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio submitted the bill aimed at lifting the embargo on the sale of arms to Cyprus, US security relations with Cyprus and Greece, and enhancing energy security in the region this week.