Italgas to enter Greek market - KATHIMERINI

15.11.2019 : 16:03

CHRYSSA LIAGGOU

Italy’s biggest natural gas distribution company, Italgas, is on the verge of entering the Greek market.

Kathimerini understands that Europe’s third largest gas distributor is very close to reaching an agreement with fellow Italian Eni Gas e Luce for the acquisition of the latter’s portfolio in the Greek gas grid.

Eni Gas e Luce is a subsidiary of oil giant Eni and is active in electricity and gas retail in Greece through ZeniTH (formerly known as Thessaloniki and Thessaly Gas Corporation). It also has a 49 percent holding in Thessaloniki gas distributor EDA Thess, which is 51 percent owned by Public Gas Corporation (DEPA).

Shell appoints Citi for $1 bln sale of Egypt assets -sources - REUTERS

NOVEMBER 15, 2019 / 2:21 PM
Ron Bousso

• Western Desert sale process to launch end of Nov.
• Shell’s share of production reached 100,000 boed last year

LONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell has appointed investment bank Citi to run the sale of its onshore Egyptian oil and gas assets which could fetch around $1 billion, sources close to the process said.

The sale process is expected to be officially launched at the end of November, the sources said.

Shell said last month it plans to sell its onshore upstream assets in the Western Desert to focus on expanding its Egyptian offshore gas exploration.

Delek Group - Barclays CEO Energy-Power Conference September 2019

Pyatt at Thessaloniki Summit: “Energy Collaboration the Brightest Aspect of Greece-U.S. Relations” - THE NATIONAL HERALD

November 14, 2019

THESSALONIKI- US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt spoke of ”the collaboration on energy is one of the brightest aspects of the relationship between Greece and the US,” while addressing the Thessaloniki Summit 2019 on Thursday, which he is attending for a third time.

Pyatt underlined that US presence in northern Greece is much more apparent compared to previous years, as “we have made the city of Alexandroupolis our strategic focus,” and he referred to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) and the Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as the three elements that make the northern Greek city so significant.

He especially praised TAP’s potential for “changing Europe’s energy map and bringing non-Russian gas to European customers.”

Cyprus signs $9 Billion gas exploitation deal with Israeli firm, energy majors - ISRAEL HAYOM

NOV-14-2019 10:39

Gilad Zwick

Cyprus announced last week that it signed its first-ever natural gas exploitation deal for the Aphrodite gas field, saying it chose a consortium comprising Israel's Delek, industry giant Shell, US-based Noble.

The 25-year license is worth US$9.3 billion. The Aphrodite gas field, discovered off Cyprus' shores in 2011 by Texas-based Noble Energy is estimated to contain over 113 billion cubic meters of gas.

"Noble Energy, Shell and Delek now have in their hands the first exploitation license granted by the Republic of Cyprus so they can commercialize the deposit," said Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis, shortly after the agreement was signed.

The signing of the deal comes after the cabinet approved revisions to a production sharing agreement, made at the companies' request due to a significant fall in hydrocarbon prices since mid-2014.

Nicosia is set to receive an average yearly income of $520 million over an 18-year period.

Energean identifies Zeus as next drilling target offshore Israel - OFFSHORE MAGAZINE

Nov 13th, 2019

ATHENS, Greece – Energean plans a 5.4-km (3.36-mi) subsea tieback of its recent Karish North discovery offshore Israel to the FPSO Energean Power.

This follows completion of side track appraisal operations at the well, which have confirmed a best estimate recoverable resource of 0.9 tcf of gas and 34 MMbbl of light oil/condensate (combined around 190 MMboe).

The Energean Power is being constructed with a gas production capacity of 8 bcm/yr (775 MMcf/d).

The drillship Stena DrillMAX has now relocated to complete the three Karish Main development wells, after which the vessel will drill the Zeus exploration prospect, targeting 0.6 tcf across three reservoir intervals.

Exxonmobil Israel talk Leviathan LNG export options - OIL & GAS EURASIA

13.11.2019

Exxonmobil is offering to build Israel a floating LNG gas-ship to export from the Leviathan gasfield and thus bypass Egypt’s planned LNG export facility.

An Exxonmobil representative told various financial media that the company is still considering its options. Other sources cautioned that it is entirely likely no agreement will be reached.

Despite considerable gas discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean region over the past decade, viable export routes have been hard to find. This has put off global energy firms. The Leviathan partners have signed deals to meet surging demand in Egypt, Jordan and Israel, but haven’t yet found a way to export to Europe or East Asia.

SDX Energy begins gas production at Egyptian site - CITY A.M

Tuesday 12 November 2019 12:47 pm

UK oil and gas exploratory firm SDX Energy announced this morning that production had started at the company’s South Disouq concession in Egypt.

Each of the site’s four discovery wells have been tested and gas has been flowing since the 7 November.

All gas production at the site, in which SDX owns a 55 per cent stake, will be sold to Egypt’s national gas company Egas.

The company said that initial flow rates were in line with expectations and that SDX will gradually ramp up production with a view to achieving its targeted production rate of 50m standard feet per day in the first quarter of 2020.

Eni not interested in acquiring Dana Gas Egypt portfolio - ENTERPRISE

Tuesday, 12 November 2019

M&A WATCH- Italy’s Eni is not looking to acquire the Dana Gas’ assets in Egypt, Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi tells Bloomberg TV (watch, runtime: 7:14). 

Descalzi stressed that Eni is satisfied with its portfolio for the time being and plans to focus on developing current assets before biting off more. 

Dana Gas had received offers for buying its assets in Egypt and expects to make a decision on the sale after bidding closes by mid-November to focus its resources on its assets in Kurdistan. 

The company was looking to complete the sale in one transaction, but is also considering only a partial sale, which hinges on the offers presented.

Aphrodite feels the love - PETROLEUM ECONOMIST

Nicosia, 12 November 2019

Gerald Butt

Cypriot energy minister Georgios Lakkotrypis issues the country’s first exploitation licence to the Aphrodite consortium to export gas to Egypt

The discussion of exactly where the gas discovered back in 2011 in Cyprus' offshore Block 12, by a consortium including US independent operator Noble Energy, would end up has loomed for almost all the 2010s.

At his Nicosia office, the country's energy minister tells Petroleum Economist Middle East editor Gerald Butt that the question has now finally been resolved.

What is now the way ahead for Aphrodite?

Lakkotrypis: The plan is that we will transport the gas vis a subsea pipeline to Egypt, liquefying it at Idku, from where it will be shipped by Shell [another partner, along with Israel's Delek, in Aphrodite] to international markets, primarily Europe. We have spent the past 12 months or more discussing the details of a revised production sharing contract (PSC) and field development plan. So now we have the exploitation licence. First gas will be in 2025.

Why has it taken so long to get gas out of Aphrodite?

Larnaca fuel storage move on schedule - CYPRUS MAIL

November 12, 2019
Jonathan Shkurko

Larnaca mayor Andreas Vyras said Tuesday the conditions were now right for the relocation of the petroleum and LPG facilities from the coast to Vasilikos to take place.

Vyras said that the relocation of the facilities has always been a priority for the city of Larnaca.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by the government and the fuel companies who own the storage facilities to move them to the new terminal by December 2019 and to gas stations around Cyprus by December 2020.

Vyras said the government and the companies were working tirelessly to move the units by the set date to the Vasilikos industrial area, where works have already begun.

Greece, Israel and Cyprus – with or without others - KATHIMERINI

12.NOV.2019 : 12:00

Locked in a region marked by uncertainty and risky endeavors, and amid widespread concern sparked by Turkey’s incursion into Syria, Greece, Cyprus and Israel are forging a web of stability. The project is designed to serve their own interests but at the same time serves those of Europe and the United States.

Here are three democratic states, each with its own comparative advantages, which have over the past 10 years made a systematic effort on a bilateral and trilateral level to establish a system of mutually beneficial cooperation across a wide range of activities.

A large number of plans are being implemented, or are under consideration – from the sharing of intelligence and know-how and the implementation of joint military drills to the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), even satellites, and energy cooperation.

Turkey's illegal drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean: Council adopts framework for sanctions - COUNCIL OF THE EU

11 November 2019, 12:05

Today, the Council adopted a framework for restrictive measures in response to Turkey's unauthorised drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean. The framework will make it possible to sanction individuals or entities responsible for or involved in unauthorised drilling activities of hydrocarbons in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The sanctions will consist of a travel ban to the EU and an asset freeze for persons, and an asset freeze for entities. In addition, EU persons and entities will be forbidden from making funds available to those listed.

The framework for restrictive measures makes it possible to place under sanctions:

Steinmetz co slams Israel for giving Ishai rights to Cyprus - GLOBES

11 Nov, 2019 18:46
Amiram Barkat

"The government is allowing Delek Group, Noble Energy to humiliate it," says Ohad Schwartz, a director at Nammax Oil & Gas,

"It is embarrassing to see how the Israeli government is allowing Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) and Noble Energy to humiliate it, after having nurtured them and allowed them to take control of both the local and regional natural gas markets," Ohad Schwartz, a director at Nammax Oil & Gas, controlled by Beny Steinmetz, wrote to Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Resources director general Ehud Adiri. Schwartz represents the Israeli companies that are partners in the Yishai prospect and are claiming rights in the Aphrodite natural gas reservoir, most of which is in Cypriot territorial waters. Nammax was a partner in the Aphrodite 2 gas drilling, in which the reservoir was discovered by Noble Energy in 2011. The reservoir also extends into Israeli economic waters.

Our View: Gas deal is great news, but we must be realistic - CYPRUS MAIL

November 10, 2019
By CM: Our View

CONTRACTS for the first hydrocarbon exploitation licence were signed on Thursday and were described by energy minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis, as “another milestone in Cyprus’ energy programme”. It was the first real milestone of our energy programme because as we have learnt over the last few years, licensing rounds, surveys, exploratory drilling and discoveries of deposits might create big expectations, but until contracts for the exploitation of the findings are signed, their commercial value is theoretical.

This is an illustration of the extremely slow pace at which the oil and gas industry moves. The discovery at the Aphrodite field in block 12 was announced in December 2011, the exploitation licence was finalised in 2019 and production is scheduled to begin in 2025. It will be 14 years after the discovery before revenue will start coming in. Even then, it will be reduced because the bigger share will go towards covering the big investment by the oil companies, estimated to be in the region of €7 billion.