Egypt’s position as regional gas export hub for East Med gets US support - ENTERPRISE

Sunday, 15 September 2019

Egypt’s position as regional gas export hub for East Med gets US support: US Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette met with Oil Minister Tarek El Molla on Thursday in Cairo to discuss moving forward with the US-Egypt Strategic Energy Dialogue — a bilateral cooperation initiative aimed at strengthening Egypt’s energy production, storage and distribution capacity. The project, which came out of an MoU signed during US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry’s visit in July, seeks to capitalize on Egypt’s position as the regional gas export hub for the East Mediterranean Gas Forum countries and hopes to attract new energy investments, said Brouillette. Following the meeting, Brouillette held a roundtable with a select few news outlets, including Enterprise, to discuss the initiative and Egypt’s role in the region’s energy. The Wall Street Journal also had the story.

Egypt's Sissi Confirms Unprecedented Military Cooperation With Israel - HAARETZ

Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, Africa 2018 Forum, Egypt December 9, 2018

Jan 04, 2019 5:21 PM

• Egyptian president addresses cooperation against militants in Sinai in interview for CBS
• Cairo's envoy to the U.S. asks that the interview be withheld from broadcast

Egypt's military cooperation with Israel has reached unprecedented levels, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi told CBS News in an interview scheduled to air Sunday.

Sissi was referring primarily to security cooperation against militants in the northern Sinai – cooperation that Egypt has until now avoided discussing publicly.

Asked whether cooperation between the sides can be described as the "closest ever," Sissi said: "That is correct…We have a wide range of cooperation with the Israelis."

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.

Eni To Begin Gas Exploration At Egypt Noor Field In Two Months -RIGZONE / REUTERS

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Reporting by Ahmed Ismail Writing by Eric Knecht. Editing by Jane Merriman

CAIRO, June 28 (Reuters) - Italian oil company Eni will begin drilling an exploratory well at its Noor field in Egypt's North Sinai in two months, Egyptian oil ministry spokesman Hamdi Abel Aziz told Reuters on Thursday.

Egypt's cabinet approved the $105 million deal to explore the North Sinai region of the Mediterranean Sea in March.

Eni's discovery of the giant Mediterranean gas field Zohr in 2015, estimated to hold about 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, has raised interest in gas exploration in Egypt.

The company has not said what level of reserves they expect Noor to contain, and the exploratory well will help to begin determine that, Abdelaziz said.

Tharwa Petroleum readies to drill in North Sinai’s Noor concession - ENTERPRISE

Thursday, 24 May 2018

Tharwa Petroleum is waiting for final gas exploration approvals to begin drilling in the Noor concession in North Sinai, a company source says. 

The number of wells to be drilled will be determined once the contracts are signed, they added. 

The Cabinet had approved earlier this month a USD 105 mn exploration agreement with Eni and Tharwa to search for oil and gas in the Mediterranean off the coast of North Sinai. 

Parliament had signed off on the agreement earlier in the week.

The Ismail Cabinet approved a USD 105 mn exploration agreement with Eni - ENTERPRISE

Thursday, 10 May 2018

The Ismail Cabinet approved a USD 105 mn exploration agreement with Eni and the Egypt’s Tharwa to search for oil and gas in the Mediterranean off the coast of north Sinai, according to a cabinet statement. Under the agreement, Eni and Tharwa drill two wells over two stages in the coming six years, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla told reporters on Wednesday. Separately, Eni has reportedly begun drilling the second exploratory well in its South Meleiha concession in the Western Desert’s Faghur Basin, Youm7 reports. Eni had announced last week making an oil discovery from another well in the Faghur Basin, which is expected to deliver 2,300 bop/d of light oil.

Prime Minister Sherif Ismail met yesterday with the head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Sultan Jaber, according to a Cabinet statement. The two discussed oil and gas cooperation, as well as increasing Emirati investments in Egypt’s oil refining, petrochemicals, and LNG sectors.