Egypt’s Offshore Red Sea Oil & Gas exploration Bid Round closes today - ENERGY EGYPT

SEPTEMBER 15, 2019 AT 1:57 PM

The Red Sea oil and gas exploration tender ends today, with bids from major oil producers expected to be announced later. Shell, ExxonMobil, Statoil, Dragon Oil, Russian Rosneft and Total have all reportedly bidding for 10 oil and gas exploration blocks off the Red Sea coast under a new production sharing contract, which were tendered back in March by the South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company (Ganope), sources told Egypt Today on Thursday.

Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, represented by South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company (Ganope), will close receiving tenders for the 2019 international bidding in the Red Sea on Sunday, Sept. 15 before noon.

Sources at the petroleum sector told Egypt Today that companies applying to the tender included Shell, ExxonMobil, Statoil, Dragon Oil, Russian Rosneft and Total France.

Zohr soars, Nour not sure - PETROLEUM ECONOMIST

30 August 2019
Gerald Butt

The super-giant Zohr gas field, in the Shorouk concession with at least 30tn ft3 of gas in place, keeps on breaking records. After first production was achieved in less than two-and-a-half years post-discovery, Italy's Eni now says that production has reached more than 2.7bn ft3/d (76.4mn m³/d)—five months ahead of plan.

A second 216km (134-mile) 30in pipeline connecting the offshore subsea production facilities to the onshore treatment plant just west of Port Said became operational in August. With this and the completion and optimisation of the plant treatment capacity, Eni says that, by end-2019, Zohr's potential production rate will reach 3.2bn ft3/d (90.6mn m³/d), up from the 2.7bn ft3/d plateau envisaged in the development plan.

Gas from Zohr already accounts for around one-third of Egypt's 6.5bn ft3/d output, and this extra production is enabling the resumption of LNG exports from the Idku plant—after a period when the country was forced to import LNG. The Damietta facility remains closed, pending the resolution of a dispute between the Egyptian government and operator Union Fenosa Gas, a joint venture between Eni and Spain's Naturgy.

Superpowers Are Vying For Power In This New Oil & Gas Frontier - OIL PRICE

Aug 29, 2019, 3:00 PM CDT

Vanand Meliksetian

The Eastern Mediterranean has become a hotbed for tensions between regional and great powers due to the discovery of major energy deposits. The littoral states could potentially earn billions in gas exports while at the same time ensuring a level of energy security, which is rare to the region. However, the on-going activities create a level of complexity, which is an opportunity for countries such as the U.S. and Russia to exert influence.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned of "revisionist powers like Iran, Russia, and China trying to take major footholds in the East and West." The U.S. wishes to create an alliance of countries connected through multilateral interdependence. The backbone of the coalition is to be formed by Greece, Cyprus, and Israel.

The most critical driver for Washington’s assertiveness is Russia’s resurgence as a major force which can project power in the wider region. Moscow's relatively successful policy in the Middle East and its presence in the Eastern Mediterranean through its military intervention in Syria are making the U.S. wary of Russian influence.

Zohr natural gas field production rises to 2.7 bcf/d - ENTERPRISE

Thursday, 22 August 2019

Production from the Zohr natural gas field has reached the 2.7 bcf/d mark four months ahead of schedule, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla said in a statement. 

This is significantly higher than the figures provided by Rosneft, which last week said production was currently averaging 2.4 bcf/d. 

The oil ministry’s figures mean that output has increased by 600 mcf/d since February, when the production stood at 2.1 bcf/d. 

Twelve wells in the field are now producing gas, the statement said. Field operator Eni originally estimated that production would peak at 2.7 bcf/d, but the ministry later said that output would rise above that to 3 bcf/d. 

Reuters also picked up the story.

Eni: Zohr gas production reaches 2.7 bcfd - ENI

21/08/2019 15:15

San Donato Milanese (Milan), 21 August 2019 - Eni announces that the production from Zohr field has now reached more than 2.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), about 5 months ahead of the Plan of Development (PoD).

This remarkable result has been achieved following the completion of all eight onshore treatment production units – the last one commissioned in April 2019 – and all Sulphur production units in August, the production start-up of two wells in the southern culmination of the field (in addition to the ten wells already drilled in the northern culmination) as well as the start-up on August 18th 2019 of the second 216 km long 30” pipeline connecting the offshore subsea production facilities to the onshore treatment plant.

The new pipeline, in conjunction with the completion and optimization of the plant treatment capacity, paves the way to increase, by the year end, the field potential production rate up to 3.2 bcfd against the POD’s plateau rate of 2.7 bcfd.

Rosneft says gas output at Zohr in Egypt surges to 11.3 bcm in H1 - REUTERS

AUGUST 14, 2019 / 2:00 PM

MOSCOW, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Natural gas production at Zohr, the largest gas field in the Mediterranean Sea, more than tripled in the first half this year to reach 11.3 billion cubic metres (bcm), Russian energy giant Rosneft said on Wednesday.

The field is an important asset for Kremlin-controlled Rosneft in its global expansion strategy and natural gas production programme. Rosneft bought a 30% stake in the project from Italy’s Eni in 2017.

The company said daily gas output at the offshore project would reach 76 million cubic metres (2.7 billion cubic feet) by the end of the year from 68 million cubic metres currently.

“After the field’s start-up in December 2017, its development is going ahead of schedule,” Rosneft said in a statement.

Eni controls 50% of the project, while BP and Mubadala Petroleum each have a 10% stake in Zohr. 

Reporting by Maria Kiselyova and Vladimir Soldatkin, editing by Deepa Babington and David Evans

Egypt’s natgas regulator to begin issuing licenses to private sector - ENTERPRISE

Wednesday, 6 February 2019

Natgas regulator to begin issuing licenses to private sector: The Natural Gas Regulatory Authority will reportedly begin issuing this month private sector gas import and distribution licenses, almost a year after it said it’s open for requests, a source from the Oil Ministry said, according to Al Shorouk. 

Licenses will come at a cost of EGP 50k alongside an EGP 500k deposit. News came after the regulator, which was made responsible last year licensing under the Natural Gas Act, postponed its first issuance in September, saying the private sector was “unprepared.” 

The authority is handling requests from at least 14 companies, including Rosneft. It also set fees last year for the private sector’s use of the state’s natgas grid.

Zohr offshore Egypt building to peak gas capacity - OFFSHORE MAGAZINE

FEB/01/2019

MOSCOW – Gas produced from the deepwater Zohr field in the Egyptian sector of the Mediterranean Sea totaled 12.2 bcm last year, according to partner Rosneft.

During the second half of the year, output increased almost fourfold compared with H1, when production amounted to 3.1 bcm.

Over the course of 2018, the treatment capacity was increased in stages from 11.3 MMcm/d (400 MMcf/d) to the current 56.6 MMcm/d (2 bcf/d), in line with the development plan and the gas sales agreement.

Rosneft expects gas output to reach the design capacity of 76 MMcm/d (2.7 bcf/d) by the end of 2019.

Zohr holds estimated in-place volumes of 850 bcm. Other partners are Eni, BP, and Mubadala Petroleum.

Letter of intent for the award of new E&C offshore word order for the ramp up to plateau phase of the Zohr field development project, worth more than 1.2 billion USD - SAIPEM

20 December 2018

San Donato Milanese (Milan), December 20, 2018 - Saipem and Petrobel have negotiated an offshore contract addendum worth more than 1.2 billion USD for Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI) activities in relation to the “Ramp Up to Plateau” phase of the “supergiant” Zohr Field Development Project situated in the Mediterranean Sea off the Egyptian coast.

Petrobel is a 50-50 joint venture between EGPC (Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation) and IEOC (an Eni subsidiary in Egypt) and is in charge of the development of Zohr on behalf of PetroShorouk, a joint venture between EGAS (Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company) and IEOC, Rosneft, BP and Mubadala Petroleum.

The current addendum to the work includes the installation of a second 30-inch diameter gas export pipeline, infield clad lines, umbilicals and electrical/fiber optic cable, as well as EPCI work for the field development in deep water (up to 1700 metres) of 10 wells.

The Ramp Up to Plateau phase is scheduled to commence in January 2019, in direct continuity with the Optimised Ramp Up phase which has been completed in an outstanding 17-month project execution period from its contract award.

Rosneft applies for natural gas import license - ENTERPRISE

Sunday, 2 December 2018

Rosneft applies for natural gas import license: Russian energy giant Rosneft has begun the process of acquiring a license to import natural gas, sources told Al Mal on Thursday. The company has apparently received preliminary approval from the government to form a JV with a local entity for the activity, they added. If true, the move indicates that not only is the government jump starting the process of issuing gas import licenses, but that it has drawn the appetite of oil and gas majors.

Background: After being formed in 2017, the Natural Gas Regulatory Authority — the country’s regulator overseeing a newly liberalized gas import and distribution market — has not moved to issue licenses as quick as some in the industry had hoped. The regulator had postponed in September the issuance of natural gas import licenses to private sector companies, ostensibly because the private sector was “unprepared.” This all appeared to change following the signing of an agreements paving the way for gas imports from Israel. The Oil Ministry is ready to consider permit requests from the private sector to help Egypt become a regional hub for gas trading, Oil Ministry spokesperson Hamdi Abdel Aziz had said at the time. EGAS has renewed preliminary approvals giving Qalaa’s TAQA Arabia, BB Energy and Fleet Energy the import licenses.

Italy's Eni boosts output at Egypt's Zohr gas field to 57 million cu m/d - PLATTS

10 Sep 2018 | 10:17 UTC
Author: Stuart Elliott; Editor: Jon Fox

London — Italy's Eni has increased production at its supergiant Zohr field offshore Egypt to 2 Bcf/d (57 million cu m/d) following the startup of the project's fifth production unit.

Zohr started production in December 2017 -- just 28 months after its discovery -- and is on track to reach plateau production of 2.7 Bcf/d next year.

The production peak -- the equivalent of almost 29 Bcm/year -- would represent more than half of Egypt's current gas demand of around 52 Bcm.

Egypt -- which until recently was a fairly stable exporter of both LNG and pipeline gas -- began importing LNG in April 2015 to fill a growing supply-demand gap caused by a major slowdown in domestic gas development.

But with the startup of Zohr and other gas fields in Egypt, the country expects to halt LNG imports by the end of 2018 and become an exporter of gas again in 2019.

"Zohr [...] is playing a fundamental role in supporting Egypt's independence from LNG imports," Eni said.

Zohr is the largest deepwater gas field offshore Egypt, and the biggest discovered to date in the Mediterranean with an estimated 850 Bcm (30 Tcf) of reserves.

It is located within the offshore Shorouk block 190km north of Port Said.

Eni holds a 50% stake in the block together with Russia's Rosneft (30%), BP (10%) and the UAE's Mubadala Petroleum (10%).

Mubadala unit acquires 10% stake in offshore Egyptian gas field - ARABIAN BUSINESS

Dr Bakheet Al Katheeri, CEO, Mubadala Petroleum.

Wed 20 Jun 2018 03:39 PM GST

Mubadala Petroleum completes acquisition from Italy's Eni of the interest in the Shorouk concession in Egypt, which contains the giant Zohr gas field

Mubadala Petroleum has announced that it has completed the acquisition from Italy’s Eni of a 10 percent interest in the offshore Shorouk concession in Egypt, which contains the giant Zohr gas field.

Following the completion, Eni, through its subsidiary IEOC, holds a 50 percent interest in the concession. The other partners in the concession are BP with 10 percent interest and Rosneft with 30 percent interest.

The Zohr field was discovered by Eni in August 2015 and is the largest natural gas field ever found in the Mediterranean, with a total potential of up to 30 trillion cubic feet of gas in place.

The field is currently producing over 1.1 billion cubic feet of gas per day (bcfd), equivalent to approximately 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Production is expected to increase to 2 bcfd by end 2018 and to reach a production plateau of 2.7 bcfd by end 2019.

Eni announces the start-up of third production unit at Zohr - WORLD OIL

MAY/10/2018

MILAN -- Eni announces the start-up of the third production unit (T-2) of the Zohr project, increasing the installed capacity to 1.2 Bcfd. Zohr is now producing 1.1 Bcfd in ramp-up, equivalent to approximately 200,000 boed, of which 75,000 boed net to Eni at current working interest. This outstanding result has been achieved only a few months after the field’s start-up in December 2017.

The third unit, following just one week after the second unit’s successful power-up, confirms the programme pursued by Eni, its co-venturers and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) to pursue a production level of 2 Bcfd by end 2018, followed by a plateau of 2.7 Bcfd in 2019.

The latest achievement reinforces the exceptional development path of Zohr, one of Eni’s seven record-breaking projects, which is playing a fundamental role in supporting Egypt’s independence from LNG imports.

Zohr field, the largest gas discovery ever made in Egypt and in the Mediterranean Sea with more than 30 Tcf of gas in place, is located within the offshore Shorouk Block (some 190 km north of Port Said). In the Shorouk Block, Eni holds a 60% stake, Rosneft 30% and BP 10% of the Contractor’s Share (where Eni, Rosneft and BP are collectively the Contractor).

Zohr Ramp-Up: Eni start-up the second production unit - ENI

San Donato Milanese (Milan)
26 April 2018 – 11:30

Eni announces the start-up of the second production unit (T-1) of the Zohr project, which will increase installed capacity by 400 MMScfd, just 4 months after the field’s start-up. Zohr now has a capacity of 800 MMscfd, equivalent to 150,000 boe per day (46,000 boed net to Eni).

The production ramp-up is planned to continue, with the same exceptional performance, in order to reach 1.2 bcfd in May 2018, 2 bcfd by end 2018 and the production plateau (2.7 bcfd) in 2019.

The Zohr field, the largest gas discovery ever made in Egypt and in the Mediterranean Sea, is located offshore, within the Shorouk Block, some 190 km north of Port Said. Zohr was discovered in August 2015, obtained the Development Lease approval in February 2016, and started the production in December 2017 with a time-to-market of 2.3 years.

UAE’s Mubadala prepares for Egypt oil & gas debut - ENTERPRISE

Thursday, 26 April 2018

UAE’s Mubadala looking to acquire 10% Zohr stake next month as it prepares to enter Egyptian market: The Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Petroleum is expected to sign next month the final contracts for its acquisition of a 10% stake in the Zohr gas field from Italy’s Eni, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla said yesterday, Al Shorouk reports. The USD 934 mn agreement, into which Eni entered last month, is still pending regulatory sign off. El Molla said that the procedural review was nearing the end, which means that Mubadala would soon join Rosneft, which bought a 30% stake in Zohr, and BP, which bought a 10% stake from Eni.

Mubadala is preparing a strong Egypt debut this year, CEO Bakheet Al Katheeri reportedly said following a meeting with El Molla. The company plans to enter exploration tenders and invest in oilfield development, according to El Molla. The minister had said last week that the government would issue tenders for 10-11 oil and gas exploration blocks, as well as other drilling tenders in the Red Sea, by the end of 2018. The Oil Ministry is also targeting USD 10 bn in FDI in the sector in FY2018-19, El Molla had also said. A number of IOCs, including Shell and Edison, had announced intentions to expand their Egyptian investments in light of recent discoveries in the East Mediterranean.

Geopolitical factors to restrict ELPE tender participation - ENERGY PRESS

18/04/2018

Geopolitical factors constraining the range of participants in order to safeguard matters such as national and regional security will inevitably be incorporated into the terms of an international tender offering 50.1 percent of ELPE (Hellenic Petroleum), expected to be announced by TAIPED, the state privatization fund, any day now, possibly even today.

Though the terms to be applied to the ELPE tender remain unclear, Russian, Iranian and Chinese players, for example, stand little chance of emerging as candidates, given the current geopolitical climate in the southeast Meditteranean, polarized by US-Russian tension.

Also, European powers such as Germany, France and Italy have been requesting increasingly strict measures from Brussels for protection of strategically important European enterprises against Chinese acquisitions. ELPE belongs to this category.

Mubadala Petroleum acquires 10% stake in Egypt's Shorouk Concession - WORLD OIL

MARCH/13/2018

ABU DHABI -- Mubadala Petroleum and Italy’s Eni signed an agreement to purchase a 10% stake in the Egyptian Shorouk Concession. The signing ceremony was presided over by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Paolo Gentiloni, Prime Minister of the Republic of Italy. The stake in the offshore Shorouk Concession encompasses the giant Zohr gas field located in the Mediterranean Sea.

The agreement was signed by HE Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Group CEO and managing director of Mubadala Investment Company, on behalf of Mubadala Petroleum and Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni. The signing ceremony was held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The signing ceremony was attended by His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.

Eni is operator with currently 60% interest and other partners in the concession are BP with 10% interest and Rosneft with 30% interest.

Eni sells 10 percent of Egypt's Shorouk concession to Mubadala Petroleum - REUTERS

MARCH 11, 2018 / 9:25 PM 

Reporting by Giulia Segreti; Editing by Louise Heavens and Peter Graff

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian oil company Eni (ENI.MI) said on Sunday it would sell a 10 percent stake in the Shorouk concession in Egypt’s Zohr gas field to Mubadala Petroleum of the United Arab Emirates for $934 million.

Eni currently holds through its subsidiary IEOC a 60 percent stake in the block, the biggest ever gas discovery in the Mediterranean, with 400 million standard cubic feet per day.

Rosneft (ROSN.MM) holds a 30 percent share and BP (BP.L) 10 percent.

The deal fits with Eni’s so-called ‘dual exploration’ strategy, under which the state-controlled group aims to sell down stakes in fields it operates in order to raise cash to fund future development and support dividends.

“(The deal) represents a further signal about the strength and quality of this world-class asset,” said ENI Chief Executive Claudio Descalzi.

PetroChina said to agree to 2018 deal to lift Libya oil - WORLD OIL / BLOOMBERG

March/1/2018

Salma El Wardany, Laura Hurst

CAIRO and LONDON (Bloomberg) -- PetroChina Co. agreed to an annual contract to buy Libyan crude after similar deals by oil majors like Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc, underscoring a recovery in the North African country’s production even as its political uncertainty persists.

The term contract is the Chinese oil producer’s first with Libya’s National Oil Corp. since 2013, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak to the media. BP and Shell also agreed in January to annual deals to buy crude from Libya.

NOC’s list of 2017 term buyers -- including Eni SpA, Total SA, OMV AG, Repsol SA, Rosneft PJSC, Lukoil PJSC and Glencore Plc -- will continue for 2018, and only Shell, BP and PetroChina will be added to the list, the person said.

Egypt to accelerate Zohr gas field development, to be completed one year ahead of schedule - ENERGY EGYPT / AHRAM ONLINE / ENTERPRISE

February 4, 2018

Egypt to complete development on Zohr one year ahead of schedule: Egypt will complete the development of the Zohr gasfield at the beginning of 2019, instead of the end of the year, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla said on Thursday, according to Reuters. Egypt had been speeding up the development of the giant gasfield, with early phase production commencing ahead of schedule last December. Speedy development of the field had helped Egypt move forward its plans to cut imports of LNG from late 2018 to July.