Friday, September 13, 2019

ENERGY: Cyprus receives intense international interest for gas supply tender - FINANCIAL MIRROR

13 September, 2019

The first phase of Cyprus Gas Company’s (DEFA) tender process for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has triggered considerable interest from major international players such as Shell, BP, Eni and Total.

According to DEFA, 25 suppliers, among the most dominant in the global LNG market, are seeking to supply gas to Cyprus and have submitted the prerequisites to qualify for the next stages of bidding and negotiation.

“The intense market competition for LNG supplies confirms that the strategy to acquire an FSRU was a decision toward the right direction,” a DEFA statement said.

Bidders/suppliers participating in the next round of bidding and negotiating are; Gunvor International B.V. Amsterdam, Naturgy LNG Marketing, Centrica LNG, Endesa Energia, Cheniere Marketing International LLP, Equinor ASA, Novatek Gas & Power Asia Pte, Shell International Trading Middle East, Enel Global Trading, Eni Trading & Shipping, Total Gas & Power Asia Private, Osaka Gas Kabushiki Gaisha, Powerglobe LLC, Repsol LNG Holding, Petronas LNG, BP Gas Marketing, Vitol, B.B. Energy (ASIA), Mytilineos, Uniper Global Commodities SE, Marubeni Corporation, SONATRACH and Public Gas Corporation (DEPA), Eni (Gas & LNG Marketing and Power), Glencore Energy UK and Mitsui & Co.

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Strong results from initial Karish wells offshore Israel - OFFSHORE MAGAZINE

Sep 12th, 2019

ATHENS, Greece – Energean has issued updates (Results For Half Year Ended 30 June 2019
) on its development and exploration campaigns in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

The main project is the Karish/Tanin gas development offshore Israel, where the drillship Stena DrillMAX recently completed drilling of two of the Karish Main wells.

In both cases, the outcome was positive, with a 45-m (147-ft) gross gas column encountered in the D-sands interval. Also, fluid samples from the main reservoir indicate a higher than foreseen condensate ratio.

Drilling of the final well in the program, Karish Main-01, is under way and this is expected to finish during 4Q. The three wells will deliver an initial 4.3 bcm of gas sales into the Israeli domestic market.

Later this year the FPSO hull is due to sail from China to Singapore.

In July, Israel’s Petroleum Council awarded Energean and Israel Opportunity – Energy Resource four new offshore licenses (55, 56, 61, and 62) for block D, 45 km (28 mi) from the coast.

Dana Gas could sell off its entire Egypt portfolio - ENTERPRISE

Thursday, 12 September 2019

The UAE’s Dana Gas has received offers from companies interested in buying its USD 500 mn Egypt portfolio, the company’s head of investor relations Mohammed Mubaideen told Mubasher. The company could potentially sell all of its assets in Egypt, depending on the offers it receives, Mubaideen said, adding that the deadline to receive offers is mid-November. The energy company currently produces 34k boe/d. Mubaideen said the Egyptian government has repaid the company USD 81 mn during the first half of the year and brought its arrears down to USD 117 mn. He reiterated that the reason behind the company’s exit is to focus on potentially more lucrative operations in Iraq.

Background: The Emirati company said in July it had hired financial advisors to study the possibility of selling down its Egypt asset portfolio. Unnamed sources told Reuters that the company hired investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH) to advise it on the sale. The company had previously said it would abandon its Merak-1 well in the North Arish concession after failing to find commercial hydrocarbons, but that it plans to invest in drilling in the El Matareya concession in the Nile Delta.

First well from Baltim South West field linked to Egypt’s national grid - ENTERPRISE

Thursday, 12 September 2019

Italy’s Eni has linked the first well in its Baltim South West natural gas field to the national grid, an EGAS source said. 


The well has a production capacity of 50 mcf/d and is the first of six wells, which will bring the field’s total production to 500 mcf/d once developed during the current fiscal year.

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Energy Security Key in Bolstered Cyprus-Egypt Ties - THE NEW YORK TIMES / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sept. 11, 2019

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus' defense minister says the east Mediterranean island nation and neighbor Egypt are exchanging information to bolster security around an offshore search for natural gas as part of enhanced defense ties.

Savvas Angelides says the two neighbors' information-sharing extends to countering any extremist threats.

The Cypriot minister says defense ties are also being upgraded between Cyprus, Egypt and Greece as through joint military exercises and personnel exchanges.

Angelides was speaking Wednesday after escorting his counterpart, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Ahmed Zaki, to a meeting with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades.

Cyprus and Egypt share a sea border delineating their respective exclusive economic zones where each country is carrying out exploratory gas drilling.

Officials said a recent discovery of Egypt's Zohr gas field bodes well for more discoveries in Cypriot waters.

Israeli gas will arrive in Egypt before the end of the year -El Molla - ENTERPRISE

Wednesday, 11 September 2019

Egypt will begin receiving natural gas from Israel by the end of 2019, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla said in an interview at the World Energy Congress yesterday, according to Bloomberg. Israel will initially ship some 200 mn scf of gas per day, an amount that will increase to 500 mn scf/d at some point in 2020, he said. The import of Israeli gas comes as part of the landmark USD 15 bn agreement between Alaa Arafa-led Dolphinus Holdings, Delek Drilling, and Noble Energy, which was signed last year.

Multilateralism to blame for delays? El Molla said that the multilateral nature of the gas export arrangement was the main reason for the process taking longer than planned, but insisted that export plans remain on track, according to Reuters. Trial shipments were originally supposed to come in March, with commercial sales beginning by the end of June. Another potential spanner in the works surfaced in May when Thailand’s PPT Energy — a stakeholder in the Egypt-Israel EMG gas pipeline — filed a USD 1 bn lawsuit against Egypt for failing to meet gas deliveries after 2011.

Monday, September 9, 2019

More US companies will join Cyprus gas exploitation, says Ambassador - IN CYPRUS / CNA

September 5, 2019 at 4:19pm
Annie Charalambous (edited by)

More US energy companies will operate in Cyprus to help extract rich natural gas resources, joining ExxonMobil and Noble Energy.

This is what US Ambassador Judith Garber told a business dinner in Nicosia on Wednesday.

“We are proud that two American companies – ExxonMobil and Noble Energy – are participating in this game-changing development…I firmly believe other U.S. companies in the energy sector will join them, as Cyprus transitions from discovery of energy resources to the hard task of bringing those resources to market,” she also said.

She then stressed that the discovery of hydrocarbons in the EEZ of Cyprus offers “great promise and responsibility”.

“We hope, such resources promote prosperity in the entire Eastern Mediterranean region and help to diversify Europe’s energy supply,” she added.

Pipeline operator EMG signs terminal deal for Israel-Egypt gas exports - REUTERS

SEPTEMBER 8, 2019 / 11:18 AM

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The East Mediterranean Gas (EMG) pipeline operator signed a deal to use a terminal belonging to Israel’s Europe Asia Pipeline Company (EAPC) for the export of natural gas to Egypt, the companies said on Sunday.

The pipeline arrangement was one of the final hurdles before Israel could begin selling gas to Egypt in a landmark $15 billion export deal.

The gas, produced from fields in the eastern Mediterranean, will be supplied via EMG’s subsea pipeline that connects the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon and El-Arish in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula. But first the gas must pass through state-run EAPC’s terminal in Ashkelon.

Sunday, September 8, 2019

ENPEDCo, EGPC ink agreements for Western Desert oil and gas exploration - ENTERPRISE

Sunday, 8 September 2019

The Egyptian National Petroleum for Exploration and Development Company (ENPEDCo) and the EGPC signed two agreements to explore oil and gas in the Western Desert last week, the Oil Ministry said in a statement. 

The companies intend to invest at least USD 4 mn to drill four exploratory wells in the Abu Sennan and Ras Qattara concessions.