Cyprus, Greece decry Turkey-Libya maritime border deal - WASHINGTON POST / ASSOCIATED PRESS

November 29, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. GMT+2Menelaos Hadjicostis | AP 

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus and Greece have strongly criticized an agreement between Turkey and Libya’s U.N.-backed government to delineate the maritime boundaries between the two countries, describing it as a serious breach of international law that disregards the lawful rights of other eastern Mediterranean countries.

The Cypriot Foreign Ministry said Friday a Memorandum of Understanding the two countries signed has no legal validity and can’t undermine the rights of Cyprus or other coastal states.

It said Turkey’s “distortion” of international law doesn’t afford it any legal rights and demonstrates that Ankara is alone in its views.

Wallace Appointed CEO of Israel’s Delek Group - JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY (JPT)

27 November 2019

Idan Wallace, currently deputy chief executive officer of Israeli independent Delek Group, will succeed Asaf Bartfeld as CEO beginning 1 January 2020. Bartfeld is retiring after 30 years with the company.

Wallace, deputy CEO since 2015, is also the CEO of Tshuva Group, a group of private companies owned by Yitzhak Tshuva, Delek Group’s controlling shareholder. Since 2010, he has served as a strategic advisor to the CEOs of Delek Energy, Delek Drilling, and Avner Oil Exploration.

Bartfeld, president and CEO since 2003, has held multiple senior positions at Delek Group, including chief financial officer. He currently serves as chairman or director of several Delek Group subsidiaries and affiliates.

Egypt- Shell close to finalising sale of its oil assets in Western Desert - MENAFN / DAILY NEWS EGYPT

11/27/2019 6:14:45 AM 

(MENAFN - Daily News Egypt) Dutch Shell company is close to finalising the sale of its existing oil assets and natural gas concession areas in the Western Desert, which represent about 80% of its assets in Egypt.

A source in the petroleum sector told Daily News Egypt that after completing the deal, the company will only have Rashid and Burullus fields whose production is estimated at 290m cubic feet of gas per day (scf/day).

He added that the company has five research and exploration areas after winning the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company's (EGAS) tender. This will not be included in the sale as there is no development and production agreement.

He explained that Shell Egypt was granted oil exploration rights in three areas in the concessions of West Fayoum, Southeast Horus, and South Abu Sinan with investments of $24.7m, $24.5m, and $7.8m, respectively. The company also plans to obtain 14 exploratory wells in the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation's (EGPC) tender.

Cyprus aims to sign contract on natural gas infrastructure and supply in 2019 - IN-CYPRUS / CNA

November 27, 2019 at 7:46am
Edited by Bouli Hadjioannou

The government’s aim is to finalise and sign a contract on developing the necessary infrastructure and the supply of natural gas in the Cypriot market within 2019 Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis has said.

Lakkotrypis was speaking during an event held to present the annual report for 2018 of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus.

He said the aim is to complete the development project for the necessary infrastructure and the natural gas provision process in the Cypriot market for the electricity production purposes by the end of 2021.

According to Lakkotrypis, the Natural Gas Infrastructure Company (ETYFA) is now in consultations with the first tenderer who is first in line, aiming to finalise the contract and sign it within 2019. Referring to the project he added that it is expected to be completed within 24 months. EAC has a 30% shareholding in ETYFA.

Baltim’s Third Well to Be Linked to Year-End Production - EGYPT OIL & GAS

Monday, 25th November 2019

Italian giant, Eni, is working on linking the third well of Baltim field to production by the end of 2019, an official source told Alborsa news.

The third well is expected to add around 100 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/d) of natural gas and 650 barrels of condensates.

After linking the third well to production, the field’s production is anticipated to reach 290 mmcf/d of natural gas and 1,950 barrels per day (b/d) of condensates, according to the sources.

The source noted that Baltim field includes six well of natural gas with an average production rate of around 75-100 mmcf/d of natural gas, making the total production of natural gas reach 500 mmcf/d.

Netanyahu’s cousin bought Greek steel company as PM backed Greece gas deal - THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

24 November 2019, 7:49 pm

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cousin, US businessman Nathan Milikowsky, invested earlier this year in a massive Greek steel conglomerate at the same time the prime minister was advancing a gas pipeline deal with Greece and Cyprus, according to an exclusive report Sunday by The Times of Israel’s Hebrew sister site, Zman Israel.

According to the report, in late June, Milikowsky’s company, Jordan International, bought Hellenic Steel, which for many years was Greece’s second-largest steel company.

The report notes that Hellenic Steel’s factory near Thessaloniki had been out of commission for five years amid Greece’s economic crisis, and only resumed its activity last week, with the new investment.

The report says Jordan International is expected to invest some 100 million euros ($110 million) in the factory, whose output is expected to reach some 350,000 tons’ worth of product per year.

TAP pipeline completed; trial op starts soon - KATHIMERINI

24.11.2019 : 13:04

The Greek section of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) transporting natural gas from Azerbaijan to Greece, Albania, Italy and points beyond in western Europe is ready and will begin trial operations in early December.

During this so-called commissioning phase, small volumes of natural gas will go through the pipeline to ensure commercial use is safe.

The pipeline has already been tested for structural flaws by pumping water under pressure through it.

The commissioning phase will last several months, but commercial use will begin in 2020.

The total length of the pipeline from the Greek-Turkish border to Italy through Albania and the Adriatic Sea is 878 kilometers (545 miles).