Two-week lifeline as ''Aphrodite'' negotiations extend amid deadlock - KNEWS

06 NOVEMBER 2023 - 08:29

With the deadline for Chevron's proposal on the "Aphrodite" reservoir set to expire on Sunday, November 5, negotiations between the Republic of Cyprus and the consortium of "12" (Chevron, Shell, NewMed) led by the American giant for the development of the reservoir seem to remain in a deadlock. The negotiations, which started last August after Nicosia rejected the development plan for the reservoir, have gone through several phases. However, the main differences persist regarding the Floating Production Unit (FPU) and various other economic aspects compared to the initial development plan submitted by the consortium in 2019, prior to Noble Energy's departure. Unless an unforeseen event occurs, a two-week extension to Chevron is expected to be granted, as the visit of Clay Neff, a high-ranking executive of the American company, to Nicosia, aimed to break the deadlock. Nevertheless, the negotiations and the firm stances of both sides do not bode well for any significant progress, leading to further delays in the Aphrodite project.

Shell Completes Sale of Western Desert Assets in Egypt to Cheiron and Cairn - JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY (JPT)

NEAG 1 in NE Abu El-Gharadig, Western Desert

September 26, 2021

Pat Davis Szymczak

Royal Dutch Shell has completed the sale of its upstream assets in Egypt’s Western Desert to a consortium of independent E&P operators focused on revitalizing mature oil and gas fields, Cheiron Petroleum Corporation and Cairn Energy, both UK-based.

Having received final government and regulatory approvals completing the sale, Shell said it will focus its Egyptian business on the offshore, including the West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM), the Harmattan Deep Project, and exploration acreage in seven new blocks in the Nile Delta, West Mediterranean, and the Red Sea, according to a 24 September news release.

Shell’s midstream focus will remain on its Egyptian LNG joint venture; downstream the company still retains Shell Lubricants Egypt.

Gas production of North Alexandria, West Delta fields to start in Dec. - EGYPT TODAY

Tue, Sep. 25, 2018

CAIRO – The second phase of gas production at North Alexandria and West Delta fields will start next December, according to Minister of Petroleum Tarek el-Molla.

Molla clarified that production will reach 400 million cubic feet of gas daily at Giza and Fayoum fields, to gradually hit 700 million cubic feet/day.

This came during Molla’s periodic meeting with the High Joint Committee of the West Nile Delta Gas Project (BP, DEA).

He further noted that production at Revine gas field will begin during the third quarter of 2019, with 450 million cubic feet per day, gradually increasing to reach its maximum capacity of 900 million cubic feet of gas per day.

The minister emphasized the importance of fully adhering to the timetables set for the implementation of the second phase to ensure starting production at these fields on schedule, adding new quantities of natural gas to raise the rates of domestic production.

Egypt signs two new oil drilling agreements - EGYPT INDEPENDENT

September 16, 2018 / 6:56 pmHend El-Behary

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has signed two new oil and gas exploration agreements to explore two deep water areas at the Mediterranean Sea and Western Sahara with Canadian, British, Dutch, Malaysian and Kuwaiti companies, for a minimum investment of more than US $ 1 billion.

The first agreement is with the Egyptian Petroleum Authority, Shell International and Malaysia’s Petronas companies in the deep West Delta maritime region at the Mediterranean, with investments of about $ 1 billion to begin drilling eight new wells.

The second agreement is with the Petroleum Authority, the Kuwaiti energy companies, the Canadian Dover and Rockhopper to explore the Western Sahara with investments of $10 million and a $2 million signing grant to drill four wells.

Royal Dutch Shell to resume deep-water exploration off Egypt - REUTERS

APRIL 17, 2018 / 12:22 PM

Reporting by Ahmed Ismail, writing by Amina Ismail; editing by Jason Neely

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt - Royal Dutch Shell said it will resume deep-water exploration for oil and gas off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, Executive Vice President Sami Iskander told a news conference on Tuesday.

Egypt is looking to production from recently discovered fields to halt energy imports by 2019.

A petroleum ministry official said last month that new production at Shell’s [WDDM] field 9B (formerly BG) is expected to reach 350-400 million cubic feet per day by 2019.

Separately, production from the first 3 wells in the field is set to begin in the 2018-2019 fiscal year.

The field is owned by Egypt’s General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), Malaysia’s Petronas and Shell.

Production from Zohr gas field to reach 1.8B cfd in September - EGYPT TODAY

Sun, Apr. 1, 2018

CAIRO – 1 April 2018: Egypt plans to boost production from its giant offshore Zohr gas field to 700 million cubic feet a day (cfd) in May and to 1.8 billion cfd in September, an official source in the petroleum sector said Sunday.

He said that pre-operation tests have been initiated for the field’s first and second production lines and that mechanical and electrical installations for both lines are almost complete.

The second line will start operation in June, with a capacity of 350 million cfd, while the third and fourth lines will enter production in July and August respectively, bringing total production from the field to 1.4 billion cfd.

West Nile Delta field 9B new output expected at 350-400 mcf/day -official - REUTERS

MARCH 19, 2018 / 9:57 AM

Reporting by Ehab Farouk and Ahmed Ismail; writing by Nadine Awadalla; editing by Jason Neely

CAIRO, March 19 (Reuters) - New production at Shell’s [West Delta Deep Marine] field 9B is expected to reach 350-400 mcf per day by 2019, an Egyptian petroleum ministry official told Reuters on Monday.

Separately, production from the first 3 wells in the field is set to begin in the 2018-2019 fiscal year, the ministry said in a statement earlier.

The field is owned by Egypt’s General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), Malaysia’s Petronas and Shell. 

5 projects achieve natural gas self-sufficiency for Egypt in 2018 - DAILY NEWS EGYPT

January 29, 2018

The Ministry of Petroleum aims to increase its production of natural gas by working to make five gas projects operational, on top of which comes the completion of Zohr gas field’s first phase and beginning the second phase of the Northern Alexandria West Delta deep field.

The ministry plans to complete the first phase of Zohr development project in the deep waters of the Mediterranean in June, and for production to gradually reach over 1bn cubic feet of gas per day, up by some 700m cubic feet per day now, after announcing early production from the well.

The giant Zohr field is among the most important discoveries achieved by the petroleum sector in recent years. The find was made by the Italian company Eni in August 2015, with reserves of some 40tn cubic feet of gas. It is expected to help Egypt surpass its sharp gap in energy supplies. The first phase of the project costs about $5bn.

Shell in talks with Oil Ministry to increase its share of gas produced at Phase 9B - ENTERPRISE

Tuesday, 19 December 2017

Shell has apparently entered talks with the Oil Ministry to increase its share of gas produced to offset their investment costs from Phase 9B of the West Delta Deep Marine Concession, government sources tell Al Borsa. 

The company is looking to recoup the investment costs of developing the concession sooner, they added. 

The company plans to complete developing two test wells in Phase 9B in 1Q2018. BG Egypt, before being acquired by Shell, had suspended work on Phase 9A+ and 9B in March 2016 after the government rejected paying USD 7.00 per mmBtu for Phase 9B.

LNG production from Giza, Fayoum fields to reach 500 mln cfpd by end of 2018 - AHRAM ONLINE

Friday 22 Sep 2017

Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum Tarek El-Molla announced on Friday that liquified natual gas (LNG) production from the Giza and Fayoum fields will reach 500-700 million cubic feet per day (cfpd) by the end of 2018.

El-Molla’s statement came during the seventh regular meeting of the committee responsible for following progress of the second phase of the West Delta gas fields on Friday.

Earlier this week, the minister revealed that Egypt is planning to reduce its LNG imports in the fiscal year 2017-18, thanks to expected production from the Zohr gas field, with imports restricted to 80 shipments worth $1.8 billion.

Shell, Petronas begin working on Borollos gas field 9B - ENTERPRISE / AL SHOROUK

Tuesday, 21 February 2017

Shell and Malaysia’s Petronas have begun working on phase 9B of the Borollos gas field, an unnamed EGAS official tells Al Shorouk. The USD 950 mn project involves drilling eight new wells with a daily capacity of 387 mcf. BG, since acquired by Shell, had suspended work on phase 9A+ and 9B of the gas field last March after the government rejected paying USD 7 per mmBtu for phase 9B, and eventually reached an agreement with the government to maintain a price cap of USD 5.88 per mmBtu for gas from the phase.

Work on the gas field later stalled as the state fell behind on payments to Shell and BG, but Shell ultimately ramped-up exploration and drilling activity on the back of promising data. As we reported last week, the government is reportedly gearing up to repay USD 500 mn-1 bn to IOCs including Shell.

EGAS renegotiates WDDM Phase 9b with BG, Shell and Petronas - ENERGY EGYPT / AL BORSA NEWS

BG’s activities in Egypt – including WDDM project
(Source: BG Group)

February 15, 2016

The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) is restarting negotiations with BG Group and Petronas over the West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) Phase 9b project and bringing it on stream.

EGAS chief Khaled Abdel Badie said that regular meetings are taking place with foreign partners BG, Shell (which has recently acquired BG) and Petronas and that ongoing talks are in progress to ensure a mutually acceptable resolution is reached, noting that talks involve negotiations over the price of gas produced from Phase 9b of the Burullus fields.

BG Group had announced in December that it was delaying bringing the Phase 9b wells on stream to mid-2016 at the earliest as receivables from Egypt continued to increase.

Egypt’s Zohr gas field could boost other east Mediterranean projects: GlobalData | World Oil

Egypt’s Zohr gas field could boost other east Mediterranean projects: GlobalData

11/24/2015

Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on linkedinShare on google_plusone_shareShare on printLONDON, United Kingdom -- With the giant Zohr gas field in Egypt expected to come online by 2018, and President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi agreeing to remove any political obstacles to Eni commercializing the field, the stage is being set for a wider regional development plan catalyzing other projects in the east Mediterranean, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.

The company’s latest analysis indicates that Zohr will yield an internal rate of return of 25%, assuming a flat gas price of $5.88 per thousand cubic feet and recoverable reserves of 22 Tcf, justifying a fast-track development. 

GlobalData’s base case analysis assumes an initial production rate of 50 MMcfgd, consistent with other producing wells in the vicinity, and that approximately eight wells will be brought onstream annually until 2026. Peak production would be achieved in 2026 at 3,052 MMcfgd.

The base case estimate for capital expenditure is $7.69 billion, which is in line with the operator’s expectations of $7–10 billion. In comparison, Leviathan gas field in Israel, which has 12.5 Tcf of estimated recoverable reserves, is expected to cost $8.9 billion over the full cycle of a standalone project.

Regional hub

“Reduced exploration risk and the potential to share infrastructure could see the eastern Mediterranean blossom into a key development area for international oil companies,” Matthew Jurecky, GlobalData’s Head of Oil & Gas Research and Consulting, said. “With the resource potential more clearly established, above-ground issues, such as political challenges and collaboration between operators, become key.”

Lydia Pearson, GlobalData’s Upstream Oil & Gas Analyst, says that high-profile political challenges have paralyzed other regional projects, such as West Delta Deep Marine in Egypt and Leviathan in Israel, but there are reasons for other nations in the east Mediterranean to be optimistic going forward.

“In Cyprus, a route to commercialization for the 4 Tcf Aphrodite field has yet to be found. A proposed floating LNG facility has struggled with commerciality, but leveraging scale and infrastructure with Zohr would boost returns and mitigate risk at both projects,” Pearson said. “In Israel, GlobalData estimates Tanin and Karish to have poor project economics, hovering around a full-cycle value of negative $1 billion when considered as standalone projects. However, if a regional gas hub were developed, these projects would yield much more favorable economics.”

Source: http://www.worldoil.com/news/2015/11/24/egypt-s-zohr-gas-field-could-boost-other-east-mediterranean-projects-globaldata