Greece’s Energean Bids for EDF Oil & Gas AssetsBy - BLOOMBERG

June 13, 2019, 4:41 PM GMT+3Dinesh Nair and Yaacov Benmeleh

• EDF has been seeking a sale to focus on nuclear projects
• Some other potential suitors have dropped out of bidding

Energean Oil & Gas Plc, the Greek energy producer that sold shares in London last year, is bidding for the oil and gas business of Electricite de France SA’s Italian unit, people familiar with the matter said.

Energean has submitted a final offer for Edison SpA’s exploration and production assets, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. Some other suitors have dropped out of the process, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

The business had earlier attracted initial interest from potential bidders including Neptune Energy and Warburg Pincus’s Apex International Energy, Bloomberg News reported in January. Other competitors including Wintershall Dea GmbH, an arm of Mikhail Fridman’s L1 Energy, could also look at the business, people with knowledge of the matter said at the time.

BASF agrees oil unit merger with Fridman's DEA to spur expansion - REUTERS

DECEMBER 7, 2017 / 9:13 PM

Dmitry Zhdannikov, Ron Bousso, Ludwig Burger

FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - Chemical giant BASF agreed to merge its oil and gas unit Wintershall with DEA, a vehicle of Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, to create one of the largest independent oil and gas firms in Europe, the companies said.

Fridman and his partners in the LetterOne investment vehicle made billions by selling their Russian oil empire in 2013 but have since struggled to expand in the United States and Britain due to sanctions imposed on Moscow despite not being under sanctions themselves.

By folding DEA into Wintershall and creating Germany’s first oil champion, cash-rich Fridman could create new opportunities for growth in large Western markets.

Libya's new power plant to cut Sharara oil exports by 50,000 bpd - HYDROCARBON PROCESSING / REUTERS

NOV/10/2017

Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar Editing by David Evans, Greg Mahlich

LONDON (Reuters) — Libya’s new Ubari gas-fired power station will initially run on up to 50,000 bpd of Sharara crude oil when it starts up in around two weeks, slashing exports from Libya’s biggest oilfield, a Libyan oil industry source said on Thursday.

The plant, if it starts on time, will initially consume 30,000 bpd of crude oil before ramping up to around 50,000 bpd, he said, declining to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Libya will consider running the plant on feedstock other than crude in the future, as the country faces a severe shortage of electricity especially during peak winter demand, the source said.

Production at Sharara is stabilizing at around 300,000 bpd and the OPEC member’s National Oil Corp is trying to restore production to its full capacity of 340,000 bpd, another Libyan oil industry source said last week.

Shell loads oil in Libya for first time in five years - WORLD OIL / BLOOMBERG

AUGUST/20/2017
GRANT SMITH AND SALMA EL WARDANY

LONDON and CAIRO (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the world’s largest oil trader, is said to have loaded its first crude from Libya in five years over the weekend, adding to evidence of the OPEC nation’s comeback.

The cargo on Saturday is for 600,000 bbl of crude from the Zueitina port, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the information is private. A Shell spokesperson declined to comment on the shipment, but said the company’s Shell International Trading & Shipping “has a history marketing Libyan crudes. We welcome new business opportunities with Libya’s National Oil Corp.”

Mustafa Sanalla, chairman of the NOC, didn’t answer phone calls seeking comment.

Russian gas pipelines to go ahead despite U.S. sanctions - REUTERS

AUGUST 3, 2017 / 1:11 PM
Oksana Kobzeva, Alissa de Carbonnel

MOSCOW/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - New U.S. sanctions will make it harder for Russia to build two gas export pipelines to Europe but the projects are unlikely to be stopped.

U.S. President Donald Trump has reluctantly signed into law further sanctions on Russia but some of the measures are discretionary and most White House watchers believe he will not take action against Russia's energy infrastructure.

This would allow Gazprom's two big pipeline projects to go ahead, although at a higher price and with some delays.

The Kremlin, dependent on oil and gas revenues, sees the pipelines to Germany and Turkey - Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream - as crucial to increasing its market share in Europe.

It also fears that Western partners - needed to develop the deepwater, shale and Arctic gas deposits that will fill the pipelines - will be scared off by sanctions.

Libyan oil output exceeds 1 MMbpd for first time in four years - WORLD OIL / REUTERS

Libyan exports before the outbreak of the civil war

JUNE/30/2017
AHMAD GHADDAR

LONDON (Reuters) - Libya's oil production has risen to 1.012 MMbopd, a Libyan oil industry source told Reuters on Friday, topping 1 MMbpd for the first time in four years.

State-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) had targeted reaching 1 MMbpd by the end of July.

Output has been helped by an interim deal with Germany's Wintershall to resume production amid a contract dispute.

On Thursday, the same source said production had been fluctuating between 950,000 bpd and close to 1 MMbpd due to technical and power generation problems.

He expected production to stabilize at the higher end of that range "very soon".

Libyan crude gushes into tankers as nation's output accelerates - WORLD OIL

JUNE/28/2017
RUPERT ROWLING

LONDON (Bloomberg) -- Libyan oil shipments are poised to hit their highest level in at least three years in the latest sign the North African country is managing to sustain a production revival.

Exports are on course to reach about 715,000 bpd this month, the most since July 2014, when Bloomberg began monitoring Libyan shipments, tanker-tracking data show. With relatively limited capacity to process that crude in its domestic refineries, the shipments have been moving in lock-step with production.

Libya’s surging output is a key factor helping to undermine the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ efforts to reduce global supply and increase oil prices. The group met last week in Vienna to discuss how to deal with rising production in Libya and Nigeria -- both OPEC nations exempt from supply curbs -- rather than deepening output cuts by other members. U.S. production climbing to the highest since August 2015 has further derailed OPEC’s efforts.

Libya's Oil Output Rises To 885,000 Bpd Following Wintershall Deal - RIGZONE / REUTERS

Monday, June 19, 2017Ahmad Ghaddar, Editing by Jason Neely

LONDON, June 19 (Reuters) - Libya's oil production has risen by over 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 885,000 bpd after the state oil firm settled a dispute with Germany's Wintershall that had slashed production by some 160,000 bpd, a Libyan oil source told Reuters on Monday.

Last week, the National Oil Corp said it expected OPEC member Libya's production to recover to 900,000 bpd in the short term.

The NOC and Wintershall reached an interim agreement last week on an upstream contract dispute that began earlier this year.

Wintershall says in talks with Libya to resolve oil export dispute - HYDROCARBON PROCESSING / REUTERS

May 10/2017
Reporting by Aidan Lewis; Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar in London and Vera Eckert in Frankfurt; Editing by Susan Thomas and Greg Mahlich

TUNIS (Reuters) -- Libya's oil production is running at above 800,000 bpd for the first time since 2014, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Wednesday, but a commercial dispute with German oil firm Wintershall has shut in a further 160,000 bpd.

Libya's output could reach between 1.1 MMbpd and 1.2 MMbpd if political obstacles were removed, the NOC said in a statement.

"We are able to produce an average of 1.1 MMbpd to 1.2 MMbpd over the rest of this year, but for this to happen our oil must flow freely. A national effort is required," NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said.

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.

Libyan oil production shows signs of continued gains: Wood Mac - WORLD OIL

11/23/2016

LONDON -- Wood Mackenzie's latest study on Libya's oil production shows the country's output has doubled from 300,000 bopd in early September to close to 600,000 bopd today, adding to the global oil supply glut.

Although an OPEC member, Libya's output has fallen so drastically it won't be bound by any production restrictions. The country will seek to recover its lost market share, notably in southern Europe where refineries prize its light, sweet blends.

"Libya's oil production increases have occurred despite the absence of a political agreement between competing administrations, and an ongoing security vacuum," said Martijn Murphy, research manager at Wood Mackenzie.

Libya’s oil production set to reach three-year high by December - WORLD OIL

By NAYLA RAZZOUK on 10/12/2016

ISTANBUL (Bloomberg) -- Libya’s oil production is set to reach a three-year high by December, as fields restart and ports reopen after five years of armed conflict crippled sales.

Output is now 540,000 bopd and will reach 900,000 bopd by the end of the year, Libya’s National Oil Corp. Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said Wednesday in Istanbul. That would be the highest production since June 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Libya, with Africa’s largest crude reserves, has increased oil output after the NOC reached an agreement last month with Khalifa Haftar, commander of the armed forces controlling key oil ports. Shipments were able to resume from ports including Ras Lanuf, Es Sider and Zueitana, leading Germany’s Wintershall AG to resume output in As Sarah oil field on Sept. 16.

Libya’s oil output nudges higher as Wintershall resumes production - WORLD OIL

Ionic Anassa is due to arrive at Zueitina on Oct. 3 2016

By TAGHREED ALMADANI, GRANT SMITH AND LAURA HURST on 9/28/2016

DUBAI (Bloomberg) -- Libya, struggling to revive its energy industry after five years of armed conflict, restarted production at an eastern oil field and was poised to export crude from the port of Zueitina for the first time since November.

Germany’s Wintershall AG began pumping at Concession 96 in As Sarah field on Sept. 16, and is producing 35,000 bpd, a company official said Wednesday in an emailed response to questions. Wintershall restarted production at the request of Libya’s National Oil Corp. (NOC) and will send oil from the field to Zueitina for export, the official said.