Egypt Announces New Oil Discovery in Sinai - EGYPT OIL & GAS

Thursday, 4th July 2019

Belayim Petroleum Company (Petrobel) has achieved a new oil discovery in the Abu Rudeis concession area in Sinai, Egypt Oil & Gas reports.

Petrobel drilled an exploration well through which it was able to reach a 35-meter layer of sedimentary rocks and a 65-meter layer of limestone rocks, where production began using current facilities at the concession area, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced.

The company has laid out a plan to drill 10 developmental wells with a crude oil production rate of around 3,000 barrels per day (b/d) and plans to enhance production using hydraulic fracturing, according to the report presented to the Minister of Petroleum, Tarek El Molla, by Petrobel Chairman Atef Hassan.

The new discovery represents a milestone for Petrobel since the Abu Rudeis field is one of the oldest in Egypt, dating back to 1957.

According to the ministry, these positive results have encouraged the foreign partner to pump more investments into various concession areas.

Egypt achieved self sufficiency in natural gas consumption in 2018: Ministry - AHRAM ONLINE / REUTERS

Tuesday 25 Dec 2018

Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum says that the country achieved self sufficiency in natural gas consumption in September 2018 due to the gradual increase in local production and the plan to develop major gas fields in the Mediterranean.

The discovery of the large offshore fields has resulted in the halting of natural gas imports for the first time in three years.

The ministry said in a statement that 2018 witnessed remarkable achievements and improvements in the oil and gas sector.

"Natural gas has been extended to more than 1 million residential units in 72 highly-populated cities and villages across Egypt in 2018," the statement read.

"As many as 18,784 cars have been adjusted to operate with natural gas during the period between January and November 2018."

Kuwait Energy Announces Oil Discovery at Area A, Egypt - KUWAIT ENERGY

Kuwait City – 13 February 2018

Kuwait Energy is pleased to announce an oil discovery in the Area A concession situated in the Eastern Desert, Egypt.

The South Kheir-1X (SK-1X) well spud on 11 December 2017 and tested successfully on 28 January 2018 at an initial oil flow rate of 2,452 barrels of oil per day (bopd) from the Hamman Faraun MBR/Belayim formation at 128/64-inch choke size. On 6 February 2018 the well stabilized at an oil rate of 1,900 bopd on 64/64-inch choke size.

Abby Badwi, Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait Energy, said:

“I am pleased to announce this oil discovery, which is a direct result of our technical team reprocessing old 2D/3D seismic and identifying drillable exploration opportunities. The Area A concession has been producing since the 1960s and this discovery demonstrates Kuwait Energy’s ability to continue to find hydrocarbons in mature fields. Kuwait Energy is proud of its track record of around 50% exploration success rate in Egypt. These achievements could not have been possible without the ongoing support of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, General Petroleum Company (GPC) and our non-operator partner Petrogas.”

Kuwait Energy holds a 70% revenue interest and is the operator of the Area A concession under a Service Agreement with GPC while Petrogas holds 30%.

Six lenders to secure EGP 2.3bn for GPC - AL MAL

Sunday 08 October 2017 12:11 PM
Moahmed Salem

Egypt’s General Petroleum Company (GPC) has signed a financing agreement with a banking alliance made up of 6 local lenders to obtain a loan of EGP 2.3bn to finance oil and gas exploration and drilling operations.

The vice chairman of the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) Yehia Abul Fotooh said that the banking alliance arranging the deal includes NBE, Banque Misr, Arab African International Bank, Societe Arabe Internationale De Banque (SAIB), EG Bank and Union National Bank – Egypt.

Mediterra Energy raises production by 17% from Sinai fields - ENERGY EGYPT / MUBASHER

July 4, 2017

The Egyptian minister of petroleum and mineral resources Tarek El Molla said that oil production in Sinai fields increased from 1,200 to 1,400 barrels per day since July 2016.

These fields include Ras Sudr, Asl, and Matarma, and they are all located on the eastern side of the Gulf of Suez.

Tarek El Molla added in a statement on Tuesday that raising production comes as a result of the agreement with Mediterra Energy Corporation.

El Molla Reviews GPC Work - EGYPT OIL & GAS

Wednesday, 28th June 2017

A press release to Egypt Oil&Gas stated that the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, praised the work results of the state-owned General Petroleum Company (EGPC) upon receiving a report from GPC’s CEO, Moustafa Taher, around the work status in Ras Sedr, Asal, and Matarma fields in Sinai.

El Molla pointed out the importance of commitment in executing the Egyptian oil and gas production plans, aiming for production from new and existing fields in oil and gas concession areas like Sinai through using new technologies.

The minister further highlighted the importance of establishing productive projects according to schedule and of achieving required performance based on health and safety standards.

OPEC's burden grows, as Libyan output reaches highest mark since 2014 - WORLD OIL / BLOOMBERG

5/8/2017

Salma El Wardany 

CAIRO (Bloomberg) -- Libya is pumping the most oil since October 2014 as the OPEC member restores output amid progress in mending the nation’s political divisions. The increase adds pressure on the world’s biggest producers who just signaled they may extend production cuts as oil slumps.

The North African country’s production has reached about 780,000 bpd, according to a person familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified for lack of authorization to speak to the media. Libya was producing about 700,000 bpd at the end of April, Jadalla Alaokali, a board member at state producer the National Oil Corp., said then.

Iraqi crude oil to arrive in Egypt within 2 weeks - EGYPT INDEPENDENT / AL MASRY - AL YOUM

Sat, 06/05/2017 - 12:08

An official source with the Ministry of Petroleum said that the Iraqi shipment of Basra crude oil, which began shipping operations in Iraqi ports on Thursday, will arrive in Egypt within two weeks.

The source added, in statements to Al-Masry Al-Youm, that the Iraqi side stressed that the shipments which will arrive at the port of Ain Sukhna amount to about 2 million barrels during this period.

The high-level source added that the agreement with Iraq was not a substitute for the agreement with Saudi Aramco, which resumed shipments of petroleum products to Egypt last month, after it had been suspended during the last period.

Libya's Oil Output Rebounds as Sharara, El Feel Fields Restarted - BLOOMBERG

30 April 2017, 1:51pm EEST
Salma El Wardany

• OPEC member pumping more than 700,000 barrels a day: Alaokali
• Biggest field Sharara at 216,400 barrels daily after restart

Libya’s crude production rebounded to more than 700,000 barrels a day as the OPEC member’s biggest oil field and another deposit in its western region resumed pumping after a halt.

The Sharara field is currently producing 216,400 barrels a day, while the El Feel, or Elephant, deposit is pumping 26,500 and is expected to boost output further, Jadalla Alaokali, a board member at the National Oil Corp., said Sunday by phone. Crude from Sharara started flowing to the Zawiya refinery after the port of Zawiya re-opened last week following a three-week closure. El Feel, idled since April 2015, also restarted last week.

Egyptian oil and energy sector to reestablish work in Libya - LIBYAN EXPRESS

Thursday 6 April 2017

The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and energy sector construction company Petrojet plan to reestablish their presence in Libya, a Libyan official said yesterday, after a meeting with company representatives that also included the chair of Libya’s National Oil Corporation, Mustafa Sanallah.

NOC and EGPC also agreed to form a partnership to study possible oil and gas projects, although no further details were provided, OilPRice reported.

A meeting took place between the Egyptian officials and the Libyan ones headed by the Deputy Head of the Presidential Council, Ahmed Mitig.

UPDATE 2-Genel targets Turkey gas deal this year to overcome oil troubles - REUTERS

LONDON Thu Mar 30, 2017 | 5:15am EDTKarolin Schaps; Editing by David Evans and Susan Thomas

• $779 mln in exploration write-offs in 2016
• Annual operating loss of $1.2 bln
• Shares recover slightly after record low on reserves cut
• Receivables fall to $253.5 million (Recasts with gas projects, adds CEO, analyst comments, share price)

Genel Energy, the oil producer chaired by former BP boss Tony Hayward, expects to strike a gas-export partnership deal with Turkey Energy Company this year, it said on Thursday, as it tries to overcome setbacks in oil exploration.

Genel slipped further into the red last year after it again downgraded reserves at its flagship oilfield and weak oil prices ate into profits, it said.

Libya's Oil Output Down 252,000 Bpd Due To Armed Protests - RIGZONE / REUTERS

Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Reporting: Julia Payne (Lausanne), Ahmad Ghaddar (London), Olga Yagova (Moscow), Aidan Lewis (Tunis); Writing: Ahmad Ghaddar, Aidan Lewis; Editing: Mark Potter, David Evans

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Oil production from the western Libyan fields of Sharara and Wafa has been blocked by armed protesters, reducing output by 252,000 barrels per day (bpd), a source at the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Tuesday.

NOC declared force majeure on loadings of Sharara crude from the Zawiya oil terminal in the west of the country and Wafa condensate loadings from the Mellitah terminal.

Supplies were stopped by the shutdown of pipelines leading from the fields to Zawiya refinery and port, a Libyan oil source said. The identity of the group was not immediately clear and there had been no claim of responsibility, he said.

The shutdown at Sharara, which had been producing about 220,000 bpd, began on Monday, a day after the Wafa shutdown, the NOC source said.

There was no official comment from the NOC.

Libyan oil output rises to 700,000 barrels per day after port fighting ends: NOC - REUTERS

A dog walks near Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Company in Ras Lanuf,
Libya, March 16, 2017 - REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori

Tunis, Thu Mar 23, 2017 | 4:53am EDT
Aidan Lewis

Libya's oil production has reached 700,000 barrels per day (bpd), the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Wednesday, recovering from a drop earlier this month caused by fighting at two key oil ports.

"We are working very hard to reach 800,000 barrels by the end of April 2017, and, God willing, we will reach 1.1 million barrels next August," NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla was quoted as saying in a statement.

The NOC said in a separate statement it hoped to produce 55,000 bpd in the coming weeks from the Abu Attifel and Rimal fields, which are currently closed for maintenance.

Royal Dutch Shell to increase gas production to 1 bcf/d in the next few years - ENTERPRISE / AHRAM GATE

Thursday, 16 March 2017

Royal Dutch Shell is looking to raise natural gas production from its Mediterranean offshore concessions to 1 bcf/d from a current 500 mcf/d in the next few years, Ahram Gate reports, following up on a meeting yesterday between Shell Egypt Chairman and MD Gasser Hanter and Oil Minister Tarek El Molla.

The company reportedly pledged to increase oil production from its Western Desert concessions to 200K bbl/d from a current 130K bbl/d at the same meeting.

Russia's Rosneft, Libya's NOC sign oil offtake deal - REUTERS

Tue Feb 21, 2017 | 5:23am EST
Aidan Lewis; additional reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by Jason Neely

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) has signed a crude oil offtake agreement with Russia's Rosneft as it looks to encourage foreign investment and bolster Libyan output, the NOC said on Tuesday.

The NOC and Rosneft also signed a cooperation framework agreement which the NOC said "lays the groundwork for investment by Rosneft in Libya's oil sector".

Egypt oil production needs 21st century revamp: executive - PLATTS

Cairo (Platts) 16 Feb 2017 842 am EST/1342 GMT

Nick Coleman, Edited by Maurice Geller

Egypt needs to rethink the joint venture model that has governed its onshore oil industry for the past half century as part of wider reforms to the economy, according to James House, senior region vice president for the country's largest international oil producer, Apache.

At a conference in Cairo this week, House told journalists Apache would increase its capital spending in Egypt this year from last year's level, which was around $300 million, as it takes on new concessions and steps up seismic acquisition.

Libya's political chaos deepens - PETROLEUM ECONOMIST

Tunis, 14 February 2017Chris Stephen

An Islamist militia attack on the Sirte Basin was repulsed. But more conflict looks likely

A new offensive by Islamist militias to capture Libya's eastern oilfields has set back the state oil company's hopes that foreign firms will return to the country's upstream - and creates new doubts about its ability to sustain an oil-output recovery.

The Benghazi Defence Brigades, originally from Benghazi and now occupying the central towns of Houn and Waddan, launched an offensive on 9 February against the Libyan National Army (LNA), which has since September controlled the Sirte Basin, the prolific heartland of Libya's oil sector.

Bapetco increases Obayed field production to 140k boepd - ENTERPRISE

Thursday, 9 February 2017

Production from the Obayed natural gas field in the Western Desert increased to140k boepd the Oil Ministry told Al Masry Al Youm.

Natural gas production increased to 515 mcf/d and crude and condensates output to 47.4k b/d.

The Obayed field is operated by Royal Dutch Shell JV Bapetco.

Acquisition of Turkish oil and gas production companies completed - GLOBE NEWSWIRE / YAHOO FINANCE

January 18, 2017

DALLAS, Jan. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Park Place Energy Inc. (PKPL) (“Park Place” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce it has now completed the acquisition of three oil and gas exploration and production companies operating in Turkey (the “Tiway Companies”). As previously reported, the purchase price for the acquisition of the Tiway Companies from Tiway Oil B.V. was $2.1 million. It took over a year to obtain all the required regulatory approvals for the transaction. As a result of the acquisition of the Tiway Companies, Park Place now owns interests in three producing oil and gas fields in Turkey, one of which is offshore and the other two are onshore.

At year-end 2016, net production to the Tiway Companies from such fields was 280 barrels of oil equivalent per day or Boe/d; and for the year 2016, net production to the Tiway Companies averaged 390 Boe/d. In addition, the Tiway Companies have about US$745,000 in available cash. Due to the acquisition of the Tiway Companies, the Company is now a qualified oil and gas operator in Turkey based in Ankara. With this base of operations in Turkey and its experienced management team, Park Place is poised to exploit these assets and for further growth in the region.

Libya oil output said to rebound with power returning at fields - WORLD OIL / BLOOMBERG

JAN/17/2017
SALMA EL WARDANY

TRIPOLI (Bloomberg) -- Libya’s oil production rebounded to about 700,000 bpd after dipping temporarily due to power outages that disrupted operations at some of the OPEC member’s fields.

Electricity is returning gradually to fields in western Libya following a blackout on Jan. 14, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified for lack of authorization to speak to news media. Oil output dropped to 655,000 bpd this week as a result of the outages, and production should increase further as electricity is restored at more fields, the person said.

The blackout occurred after an unspecified group of people closed the valve of a natural gas pipeline that feeds the Zawiya power station in the western region, and electricity was restored later in some areas, the state-run Lana news agency reported on Jan. 15. Other factors contributed to the outages, including attacks on power stations, the national utility GECOL said in a Jan. 15 statement.