Dana Gas could sell off its entire Egypt portfolio - ENTERPRISE

Thursday, 12 September 2019

The UAE’s Dana Gas has received offers from companies interested in buying its USD 500 mn Egypt portfolio, the company’s head of investor relations Mohammed Mubaideen told Mubasher. The company could potentially sell all of its assets in Egypt, depending on the offers it receives, Mubaideen said, adding that the deadline to receive offers is mid-November. The energy company currently produces 34k boe/d. Mubaideen said the Egyptian government has repaid the company USD 81 mn during the first half of the year and brought its arrears down to USD 117 mn. He reiterated that the reason behind the company’s exit is to focus on potentially more lucrative operations in Iraq.

Background: The Emirati company said in July it had hired financial advisors to study the possibility of selling down its Egypt asset portfolio. Unnamed sources told Reuters that the company hired investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH) to advise it on the sale. The company had previously said it would abandon its Merak-1 well in the North Arish concession after failing to find commercial hydrocarbons, but that it plans to invest in drilling in the El Matareya concession in the Nile Delta.

Israel's Natural Gas Discoveries Are Bridging Political Divides And Are Forging Economic Ties - FORBES

Apr 18, 2019, 08:16am
Ken Silverstein

Even more natural gas has been found off Israel’s coastline, which may help shift the global energy paradigm. Greek oil and gas developer Energean has discovered what it says is between 28-42 billion cubic meters of natural gas, all on top of the 67 billion cubic meters that it has already located.

The discovery comes atop earlier ones a decade ago that are getting tapped and will be eventually distributed to former adversaries of Israel: Jordan and Egypt. And there are also plans to sell the natural gas to Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. Indeed, if Israel blossoms into a regional energy powerhouse, it could have profound implications for geopolitics — and possibly extend as far as East as Iraq.

Egyptian petroleum minister fleshes out country’s progress as regional hub - THE ARAB WEEKLY

Sunday 24/02/2019

Mohamed Hammad

Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Tarek el-Molla said Cairo would soon announce its first international bid for oil and gas exploration in the country’s Red Sea territory, as a step towards Egypt increasing its position among natural gas suppliers in the region.

Molla said the ministry carried out two seismic surveys in the Red Sea and southern Egypt that indicated “positive signs that encouraged us to submit tenders to international companies for the extraction of oil and gas in that virgin region.”

“This procedure would not have been possible without the delimitation of the maritime border with Saudi Arabia in April 2016. [The agreement] enabled Egypt to search and explore in this region for the first time,” Molla said.

The surveys were carried out by US companies TGS and Schlumberger at a cost of about $750 million.

Tenders for oil and gas exploration in the Red Sea were to have been announced last December but Molla said Egyptian officials decided to wait to better market the promising potential in the region.

Dana Gas now producing 70,000 barrels of oil per day in Kurdistan - KURDISTAN 24

A gas processing plant run by Dana Gas in the Kurdistan Region

December 15, 2018

John J. Catherine

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Middle East's largest regional private sector natural gas company has announced that, as a result of a previous ramp-up of production in the Kurdistan Region, it reached 70,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in late November and has either sustained or exceeded that amount since then.

"Production in excess of 70,000 barrels oil equivalent per day is a great achievement for Dana Gas," said Chief Executive Officer Patrick Allman-Ward in a statement released on Thursday.

"The increase in production will help offset the lower realised hydrocarbon prices that have impacted the oil industry in the last quarter and support growth in our revenue and net profit figures for the full year 2018 and beyond."

Dana Gas is an independent gas company headquartered in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates that has been active in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq since 2007 when it entered into agreements with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to develop its substantial gas resources.

Oil Ministry signs three new oil and gas exploration agreements in Gulf of Suez and North Sinai - ENTERPRISE

Thursday, 12 July 2018

Oil Ministry inks three new agreements for oil and gas exploration in North Sinai and the Gulf of Suez. The first agreement, between GHP Exploration Corp. and the South Valley Petroleum Holding Company, will see the company drill four new wells at a cost of about USD 6 mn at the West Gabal El Zeit concession in the Gulf of Suez, according to a ministry statement. The second agreement was signed between the EGPC and UK’s Perenco for exploration in the North Sinai offshore concession, while the third was with the EGPC for exploration in the Gulf of Suez’ Ras Fanar concession. The Oil Ministry is currently finalizing procedures for 18 other agreements that will be announced soon, according to Minister Tarek El Molla. The government had announced plans to step up exploration activities in FY2018-19 as the country marches toward natural gas self-sufficiency and bids to become a regional energy export hub.

Kuwait Energy looks to spin-off Egyptian assets - ENTERPRISE

Monday, 21 May 2018

Kuwait Energy looks to spin-off Egyptian assets: Kuwait Energy has hired investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners to advise on possibly divesting its stakes in Egypt and Iraq, sources close to the matter tell Reuters. Plans include spinning off Egypt assets that include interests in four oil and gas fields, including the Abu Sennan concession. Kuwait Energy had reduced its stake in that field to 25% last year. In Iraq, the company is looking to sell part or all of its Block 9 field. The move comes as the company is looking for liquidity to pay back shareholders and creditors. Talks for a possible merger with the UK’s SOCO International earlier this year had reportedly had fallen apart. The firm, which lost its CEO and saw a credit downgrade last year, owes USD 290 mn due next year, and should start repayments of a convertible loan of around USD 150 mn this year to an entity controlled by private equity group Abraaj.

Dana Gas reportedly reaches settlement agreement with sukuk holders - ENTERPRISE

Sunday, 13 May 2018

The UAE’s Dana Gas appears to have reached a settlement agreement with holders of its USD 700m sukuk. “A committee representing sukuk holders, which include BlackRock Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., agreed to accept an immediate cash payout of USD 0.20 to the USD and to roll the rest into a three-year security,” sources with knowledge of the matter tell Bloomberg. The agreement would bring the Sharjah-based producer’s court case with its Islamic bond holders to an end.

Medserv's two major investors look to sell their shares - TIMES OF MALTA

Tuesday, May 1, 2018, 09:13

More than 65 per cent of the oil and gas service company available for purchase

Medserv's two major shareholders are seeking to offload their shares in the oil and gas service provider, they announced late on Monday.

Malampaya Investments Limited and Anthony S. Diacono have informed the company's board of directors that they intend to source a strategic purchaser to acquire their respective 34.33 per cent and 31.17 per cent shareholding.

Sourcing a strategic purchaser should "accelerate and further supplement the Group’s growth and internationalisation strategy," the two shareholders said in a company announcement. The company's board of directors share that view, they noted.

The process to find a purchaser is still at a very early stage, and the company noted that there is no certainty that one will be found or an eventual deal concluded.

Cyprus to Egypt gas pipeline deal to be signed: Petroleum Minister - EGYPT INDEPENDENT

President N. Anastasiades, President A.F. el-Sisi, PM A. Tsipras 

February 23, 2018 3:09 pm
Farah Tawfeek

Minister of Petroleum Tarek al-Mulla declared that before mid-2018, there will be a signing of an agreement with the European Union (EU) to build a Cyprus-to-Egypt gas pipeline, saying that the EU will be the main beneficiary of the energy produced.

During his participation in the ‘Petroleum Week’ conference in London, the minister announced that a preliminary agreement with Cyprus’s government has been signed to have a pipeline running from Cyprus to Egypt, and that further negotiations are underway between governments. Moreover, Egypt and Greece will be working closely in the fields of petroleum and gas through several agreements.

He also emphasized the close cooperation with Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq in the same field, announcing that Egypt has entered an agreement with Jordan and Iraq to transport crude oil and gas from Iraq, through Jordan, to Egypt.

2 million Iraqi oil barrels to arrive in Egypt on Feb. 15 - EGYPT TODAY

CAIRO – Mon., 5 February 2018

The first 2 million-barrel crude oil shipment coming from Iraq will arrive in Egypt’s capital of Cairo, on February 15.

The crude oil shipment left Iraqi ports days ago and the ships are on their way to Cairo, according to an Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) source.

In January, Egypt renewed a contract to import 12 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil over the coming year, an official at EGPC stated.

The official, who declined to be named, said that six 2-million barrel cargoes of crude would be supplied over the course of a year, starting this month.

The Iraqi deal was originally agreed last April with the first shipment arriving in May. Egypt has gone from exporting energy to being a net importer as domestic output has failed to keep pace with rising demand.

Turkey’s Syria campaign unlikely to affect regional energy projects - NEW EUROPE

JANUARY 29, 2018, 10:44
Kostis Geropoulos

East Med gas pipeline from Cyprus to Greece and onto Europe bypassing Turkey has the less political risk, leading regional expert says

ATHENS – As Turkey moves forward with ‘Operation Olive Branch’ with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly saying that Ankara is prepared to take its fight against Kurdish forces in northern Syria as far as Iraq, a leading regional analyst told New Europe that the latest military campaign is not likely to have any direct effect on energy projects.

Asked if that military operation would have any effect on long-term projects like the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), Saleh Jallad of the Consolidated Contractors Company and publisher of the Middle East Economic Survey “MEES” said, “No, these are a little bit in a way independent. TAP, for instance, it has to do with influence but indirect ways, not direct with Turkey. So it will continue to go and it’s a good project, in my opinion, because it could supply Europe… and Greece will also benefit from this project”.

Jallad stressed that Turkey also wants to diversify its energy resources because the majority of its imports are from Russia.

Fuel subsidy spending rises 68% y-o-y in 1Q2017-18, El Molla says - ENTERPRISE

Sunday, 12 November 2017

Fuel subsidy costs rose 68% y-o-y to EGP 23.5 bn in 1Q2017-18, up from EGP 14 bn in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla told reporters yesterday, Reuters reports. The minister reaffirmed that the government would not raise fuel subsidies again during this fiscal year, but said gasoline subsidies will be lifted altogether within five to ten years; some form of subsidy will remain in place for diesel fuel and gas cylinders, according to Ahram Online. The partial lifting of fuel subsidies since November 2016 has trimmed EGP 4 bn off the state’s expenditures this year, El Molla says. As we noted previously, the government is projecting that spending on fuel subsidies this fiscal year will record EGP 110 bn.

Major oil pipeline between Iraq and Turkey to bypass Kurdish region - MIDDLE EAST MONITOR

October 11, 2017 at 2:16 am

Iraq and Turkey have intensified their efforts to isolate independent seeking Kurds by bypassing the region while re-opening a disused oil pipeline between the two countries.

The central government in Iraq wants to restore one of its oldest pipelines that run from Kirkuk in the Kurdish region of Iraq to Mediterranean port of Ceyhan in Southern Turkey. The pipeline was damaged in areas occupied by Daesh until Iraqi forces regained control of the region late last year.

Iraq’s oil minister, Abdul Karim Luaibi Bahedh announced in a statement today, repairs to the pipeline, which was once a key artery of Iraq’s oil export.

Turkey backs Iraq on oil after Kurdish vote - OIL & GAS JOURNAL

HOUSTON, Sept. 28, 2017

The government of Turkey said it will deal exclusively with the Iraqi government on oil exports after voters in the semiautonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq supported independence in a controversial referendum.

Assurance from Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim of support for Baghdad followed threats before the vote to close the pipeline that carries crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan across Turkey to Ceyhan on the Mediterranean.

About 72% of eligible voters participated in the Sept. 25 referendum, which supported negotiations leading to separation from Iraq by nearly 93%.

Yildirim told Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi in a Sept. 28 telephone conversation that Turkey would deal only with Iraq on exports and that Iraq had “support of his country for all decisions,” according to press reports.

Croatia's Crosco gets deal to drill 12 gas wells in Egypt, Iraq - SEE NEWS

ZAGREB (Croatia), August 2 2017 (SeeNews)

Ukrainia's UkrGasVydobuvannya (UGV) has said it signed a 47 million euro ($55.6 million) contract with Croatia's Crosco for the drilling of 12 natural gas wells in Egypt and Iraq.

UGV has signed two contracts with Crosco, each for the drilling of six wells at EMSCO-605 land rig in Egypt and R-67 land rig in Iraq, the Ukrainian company said in a statement on Tuesday.

The start of drilling works is scheduled for the third quarter of 2017, with Crosco planning to drill four wells annually, UGV noted.

Zagreb-based Crosco is an integrated onshore and offshore drilling and well services contractor. It is part of Croatian oil and gas company INA.

Egypt has so far received half of contracted Iraqi crude shipments –source - ENTERPRISE / AL MAL

Sunday, 30 July 2017

Egypt has so far received half of its contracted 12 mn bbl of Iraqi crude oil scheduled for delivery in 2017, a source tells Al Mal. 

The latest shipment is the third since May. 

Refiner MIDOR received 50% of the total oil delivered, while AMOC got 14%. 

A portion of the refined product is re-exported back to Iraq.

Dana Gas Names Advisers for $700 Million of Islamic Debt - BLOOMBERG

4 June 2017, 11:30 a.m. EEST
Anthony Dipaola

• ‘Restructuring may be easier than others’: Arqaam analyst
• Dana Gas has $700 million in Islamic bonds due in October

Dana Gas PJSC named legal and financial advisers to assess options for about $700 million in Islamic bonds due in October, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

Houlihan Lokey Inc. will serve as financial adviser and Squire Patton Boggs LLP will provide legal counsel, according to the person, who asked not be identified because the matter is not public. None of the companies commented.

Egypt to receive first shipment of Iraqi crude oil on Tuesday under new deal - AHRAM ONLINE

Egypt's Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla

Monday 15 May 2017

Egypt will receive two million barrels of crude oil on Tuesday from Iraq, the first shipment to arrive as part of a deal with the Iraq's state oil marketing company SOMO, Al-Ahram’s Arabic website quoted Egypt’s Oil Minister Tarek El-Molla as saying.

Under the terms of the year-long agreement, which was reached last month by Baghdad and Cairo, Iraq will sell 12 million barrels of oil to Egypt.

Cairo has been struggling to procure oil and natural gas for domestic market needs from several sources in the past few years.

However, recent surges in natural gas discoveries and projected finds in the country promise to help Egypt cut down on its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in the coming year.

Dana Gas first-quarter profit nearly doubles as production rises - WORLD OIL

5/11/2017
Anthony Dipaola

DUBAI (Bloomberg) -- Dana Gas PJSC profit nearly doubled in the first quarter as the United Arab Emirates-based natural gas producer boosted output.

See here press release.

Net income rose to 40 million dirhams ($11 million) from 22 million dirhams a year earlier, the company said Thursday in a statement to the Abu Dhabi stock exchange. Sales climbed 44% to 432 million dirhams.

Dana Gas, which pumps most of its gas at fields in Egypt and Iraq, is seeking to recover payments from both countries for overdue bills. The company was owed $1 billion from Egypt and the self-governed Kurdish region in northern Iraq at the end of the quarter. The receivables rose from $982 million at the end of 2016 because payments from Egypt slowed, CEO Patrick Allman-Ward said on a media conference call.

One dud oil field doesn't set a trend as Kurds keep drilling - WORLD OIL

5/10/2017

Angelina Rascouet

LONDON (Bloomberg) -- When one of the biggest crude producers in Iraqi Kurdistan downgraded reserves in March, doubts about the economic potential of the region -- a key player in the fight against Islamic State terrorism -- deepened. But evidence suggests it’s too soon to write off the emerging oil province.

The downgrade at Genel Energy Plc’s Taq Taq field, the second in little more than a year, sent its shares tumbling amid gathering anxiety over a region already struggling with weak crude prices and escalating costs to fight militants.

Yet that disappointment stands in contrast to improving prospects elsewhere in Kurdistan. DNO ASA, the area’s biggest publicly listed producer, this month doubled the number of wells planned for 2017 at its Tawke field, while competitor WesternZagros Resources Ltd. increased reserve estimates in March.