French, Italian Companies Will Drill for Energy off Cyprus - THE NATIONAL HERALD

February 21, 2020

NICOSIA – Ignoring threats from Turkey, a French-Italian consortium of oil companies Total and ENI said they will begin drilling off Cyprus despite between oil giants Total and ENI will start drilling in Block 6 of Cyprus’ despite an “escalation” in tension, Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said.

That would be done in Block 6 of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ,) parts of which Turkey doesn’t recognize and as it has sent in two ships to also hunt for energy despite denunciation from the legitimate government, a member of the European Union that Turkey has been trying to join for 15 years.

The French and Italian companies said they would start in April although Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkish warships near the EEZ could use the threat of military force to stop them, as they did earlier when an ENI ship steered away.

Greece says nine investors interested in gas distribution network sale - REUTERS

FEBRUARY 21, 2020 / 6:43 PM

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece received nine expressions of interest from investors in the sale of the country’s state-controlled gas distribution network, DEPA Infrastructure, the country’s privatisation agency said on Friday.

Greece, which emerged from a series of international bailouts in 2018, intends to sell gas utility DEPA’s commercial and distribution business in two separate tenders to help open up the sector.

The country is selling its 65% stake in DEPA Infrastructure.Hellenic Petroleum, which holds the remaining 35% inthe company, has also agreed to offload its stake.

The privatisations agency said the following investors had expressed interest to acquire DEPA Infrastructure:

Antin Infrastructure Partners, China Resources Gas (HONG KONG) Investment Ltd, Consortium SINO-CEE Fund and Shanghai Dazhong Public Utilities Group, EP Investment Advisors, First State Investments (European Diversified Infrastructure Fund II), Italgas SpA, ISQUARED Capital Advisors LLP, KKR (KKR Global Infrastructure Investors III L.P.), MAQOUARIE (MEIF 6 DI HOLDINGS).

The agency said its advisors would evaluate the expressions of interest and make their recommendations to its board on the candidates that “qualify for the next phase of the tender, the binding offers phase.”

Cyprus and Norway prepare to sign energy MoU - KATHIMERINI

Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide with her Cypriot
counterpart Nicos Christodoulides (PIO)

21 FEBRUARY 2020 - 16:43

Cyprus and Norway began preparations on Friday to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on energy issues, that will contain provisions for the exchange of expertise in relation to the national hydrocarbon fund (sovereign fund), among other things.

According to the Cyprus News Agency, the MoU under discussion contains five components, concerning LNG bunkering, LNG legislation, and cross border interconnection for natural gas and electricity. Other provisions include Renewable Energy Sources and sovereign fund management.

The MoU will be signed at Ministerial level once the relevant preparation work is completed.

Diplomatic sources said Oslo recently discouraged a Norwegian energy company form entering into cooperation with TPAO, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation.

After it was approached by TPAO to cooperate over drilling issues, the company contacted Norway’s Foreign Ministry, which in turn appeared negative to the prospect of the two companies cooperating.

France Gives Backing to Cyprus Amid Gas Search Tensions - NEW YORK TIMES / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Feb. 18, 2020

NICOSIA, Cyprus — France's defense minister said Tuesday that her country stands in solidarity with Cyprus amid tensions over a Turkish search for natural gas inside Cypriot waters.

Florence Parly said France supports Cyprus, which finds itself under “strong pressure.”

“France is a friend of Cyprus," Parly told The Associated Press after talks with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades. “And we also express our solidarity regarding, for instance, what's going on in the EEZ" — Cyprus' exclusive economic zone.

Turkey has sent warship-escorted vessels to drill for gas in waters where Cyprus has exclusive economic rights, including areas where the Cypriot government has licensed energy companies Total of France and Italy's Eni to carry out exploratory drilling.

European Union member Cyprus has denounced Turkey's actions as a flagrant violation of its sovereign rights and of international law. The EU has also rebuked Turkey over the drilling.

Greece's Corinth produces 62km of line pipes for Greece-Bulgaria gas link - SEENEWS

Feb 17, 2020 14:13 EEST
Mario Tanev

SOFIA (Bulgaria), February 17 (SeeNews) - Greece's Corinth Pipeworks has completed the production of the first 62 kilometres of line pipes for the Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnector project - ICGB, Bulgaria's energy ministry said.

Pipes have been loaded on six trains, three of which are already in Bulgaria, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

The first production lot is expected to be delivered in full in March, which will provide the gas link construction company with all necessary types and sizes of pipelines.

ICGB, the project company developing the gas link, signed contracts for the supply of pipes and construction of the interconnector with Corinth Pipeworks Industry and J&P-Avax, respectively, last year. The construction of the 123-km section of the interconnector on Bulgarian soil will begin in 2020, the energy ministry said at the time.

The pipeline, which has a total estimated cost of 220 million euro ($242.7 million), will connect the Greek gas transmission system in the area of Komotini to the Bulgarian gas transmission system in the area of Stara Zagora. The planned length of the pipeline is 182 km and the projected capacity will be up to 3 billion cu m per year in the direction from Greece to Bulgaria.

Egypt officially became a net exporter of LNG last year, bringing our gas hub ambitions ever closer - ENTERPRISE

Sunday, 16 February 2020

Egypt officially became a net exporter of LNG last year, bringing our gas hub ambitions ever closer: Egypt’s imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fell to zero in 2019 and exported USD 1.24 bn-worth of LNG, marking a nearly 150% y-o-y increase, according to Capmas figures released on Thursday. Oil Minister Tarek El Molla had been saying since 2018 that Egypt’s LNG imports would come to an end as of October of that year, and that Egypt would begin exports by January 2019 as more output from gas fields is connected to the national grid. Crude oil and butane gas imports also dropped last year, while exports of petroleum products rose 4.5% y-o-y to reach USD 4.9 mn.