Foreign oil, gas investments in Egypt hit $10 bln in 2017-18 - minister - REUTERS

CAIRO, AUGUST 24, 2018 / 5:46 PM 

Reporting by Ali Abdelaty, writing by John Davison; Editing by Jan Harvey

Foreign investment in Egypt’s oil and gas sector rose to $10 billion in the 2017-2018 financial year, Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla said in an interview with state-run Al Ahram newspaper published on Friday.

That is up by nearly a quarter from 8.1 billion in the previous year. El Molla was quoted by the paper as saying he expected the same volume of investments in the current fiscal year. Egypt’s fiscal year runs from July to June.

Italian oil company Eni said last month that the production capacity of Egypt’s giant Mediterranean Zohr gas field stood at 1.6 billion cubic feet a day and would reach 2 billion by September.

Egypt plans to become a regional hub for the trade of liquefied natural gas after a string of major discoveries in the Mediterranean that are expected to make Egypt self-sufficient in gas by the end of 2018. 

EGPC launches 2018 oil & gas exploration bid round for 11 blocks - ENTERPRISE

May 22, 2018

The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) launched the 2018 bid round for oil & gas exploration on 11 blocks: Five in the Western Desert, two in the onshore Nile Delta region, one in the Eastern Desert, and three in the Gulf of Suez (both onshore & offshore).

The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum announced in an Al Ahram newspaper advertisement that the deadline for receiving bids for the EGPC tender will be on October 8, 2018.

Egypt Sets Deadlines For Oil And Gas Exploration Bids - RIGZONE / REUTERS

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Reporting by Ehab Farouk, writing by Sami Aboudi; editing by Jason Neely

CAIRO, May 22 (Reuters) - Egypt has set October 1 and October 8 deadlines for two major international tenders for oil and gas exploration spanning 27 onshore and offshore blocks, the oil ministry said on Tuesday.

Bids for 11 blocs offered by the Egyptian General Petroleum Corp (EPGC) must be submitted by October 1, the ministry said in an advertisement published in the state-run al-Ahram newspaper.

Companies interested in 16 concession areas offered under state-buyer EGAS must submit their bids by October 8, it said.

The EPGC tenders include five blocks in the Western Desert, two in the Nile Valley, three in the Gulf of Suez and one in the Eastern Desert.

The EGAS tender, described by the ministry as the largest in the company's history, includes 13 offshore Mediterranean blocks and 3 in the Nile Delta.

Egypt, Cyprus and Greece: Consolidating a Mediterranean alliance - AL AHRAM

Monday 20 Nov 2017
Dina Ezzat

“We cannot be exploring the potential fields without reaching an agreement on the demarcation with Greece,” explained an Egyptian official.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is expected to arrive Monday afternoon in Cyprus' capital Nicosia for talks with his counterpart Nicos Anastasiades.

During his visit to Egypt’s northern Mediterranean neighbour, El-Sisi is also expected to meet with Alexis Tsipras, the prime minister of Greece, considered in Egyptian diplomacy circles as one of the closest possible allies of Egypt in the European Union and in the Mediterranean zone.

The three leaders of Egypt, Cyprus and Greece were expected to hold a three-way summit to discuss their planned two-path cooperation: energy and security.

A top issue for the Egyptian president in Nicosia is the conclusion of a process to define maritime borders between Egypt and Greece. According to Egyptian and Greek sources, this process was launched a few years ago with firm support form both El-Sisi and Tsipras, who both wish to see this demarcation as a beginning for the full exploitation of the eastern Mediterranean's natural gas reserves.

BP’s Atoll field is 93% complete, production on track by year’s end - ENERGY EGYPT

November 9, 2017

BP will launch production at the USD 3.8 bilion Atoll field in the North Damietta concession ahead of schedule by the end of the year, said Hassan Abady, Chairman BP JV Pharaonic Oil Company, Al Ahram reports. Development of the field is 93% complete, including the drilling of three deepwater wells 950 meters below the water’s surface. The field is expected to produce 300 mcf/d and 8k bbl/d once online.

BP’s Atoll field is 93% complete

Development works of British Petroleum’s (BP) Atoll Phase One project is 93 percent complete, head of BP’s joint venture Pharaonic Petroleum Company, Hassan Abady said Wednesday.

West Nile Delta Phase 2 gas fields to produce 500-700 mmcf/d by 2018 - ENERGY EGYPT / ENTERPRISE / MUBASHER

November 8, 2017

The Oil Ministry is expecting the West Nile Delta (WND) gas fields – Giza and Fayoum – to produce 500-700 mmcf/d (TEKMOR Note: approx 0,2 tcf per year) when they come online by the end of 2018, the ministry said in a statement.

More West Nile Delta gas fields to begin production late 2018

The Egyptian minister of petroleum said that natural gas production from the second phase of the West Nile Delta (WND) project will begin by the end of 2018.

Tarek El Molla added that fields including Giza and Fayoum will have a production capacity ranging between 500 and 700 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/d).

Production is set to reach 1.6 billion cubic feet per day, with a 70-kilometer pipeline currently under construction.

It was previously reported that the fields are expected to cover around 25% of Egypt’s gas demand upon completion.

According to Al Ahram, gas extraction from the West Nile Delta fields is carried out in cooperation with British Petroleum (BP) and Germany’s DEA group.

El Molla meets with Total executives to discuss exploration opportunities - ENTERPRISE / AL AHRAM

Wednesday, 31 May 2017

Oil Minister Tarek El Molla met yesterday with Total Egypt’s Managing Director Jean-Pascale Clémençon and the Vice President of Total’s Middle East and North Africa division Elias Kassis to discuss the company’s oil and gas exploration projects in the Mediterranean and the Delta area, Al Ahram reports.

Kassis told El Molla that the company is committed to its investment plan in Egypt, including its activities at the North Mahalla onshore concession.

Aramco shipments officially resume - ENTERPRISE

Sunday, 19 March 2017

Saudi Aramco has resume shipments of petroleum products to Egypt, which received shipments on both Friday and Saturday, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla told CBC’s Lamees El Hadidi last night. The next two shipments are scheduled to arrive on 25 and 26 March and will then return to a regular schedule from next month. Egypt is set to buy c. USD 320-340 mn each month at today’s prices. El Molla had told Reuters’ Arabic service on Thursday that the shipments were expected to resume by the end of March or in early April. The resumption of shipments — part of a USD 23 bn, five-year supply agreement halted last year amid rising tensions between Cairo and Riyadh — was announced last Wednesday.

How is the Egyptian General Petroleum Authority coping with fuel shortages after Saudi Arabia rescinded on a deal to provide Egypt with petrol and diesel shipments - ZAWYA / AL AHRAM WEEKLY

18 March 2017

Ahmed Ismail

Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources is seeking a deal with the Iraqi government to import around one million barrels of crude oil to meet some of the Egyptian market’s petroleum needs after the Saudi company Aramco stopped deliveries of petrol and diesel fuel to Egypt in October.

According to Tarek Al-Hadidi, CEO of the Egyptian General Petroleum Authority (EGPA), the first shipment of Iraqi crude oil is scheduled in March “to be processed at Egyptian refineries and produce petroleum outputs for the domestic market.”