Leviathan Gears Up For Development Phase As Sanctioning Nears - HART ENERGY

Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - 4:07pm
Velda Addison 

Work to develop the gigantic Leviathan Field in the Mediterranean Sea offshore Israel is progressing with project sanctioning expected sometime this quarter.

Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) delivered an update on the field, which holds about 622 Bcm (22 Tcf) of natural gas, during a conference call Feb. 14 after releasing its fourth-quarter 2016 results and outlook for this year.

“We’re moving into the development phase now,” said J. Keith Elliott, senior vice president for Noble’s Eastern Mediterranean assets. “We have started procurement of the raw materials for both the subsea and the platform construction project.”

Eni, BP pouring more investment into Egypt than anywhere else - WORLD OIL

2/15/2017
Salma El Wardany, Sam Wilkin, Tamim Elyan

CAIRO (Bloomberg) -- Eni SpA will start producing from the giant Zohr natural gas field off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast by the end of 2017 and plans to invest $10 billion in the North African country over the next five years, CEO Claudio Descalzi said. Production plans for Zohr are on schedule, and Egypt will be Eni’s top country for investment in the next two years, Descalzi said at a conference in Cairo. 

BP Plc, which bought a 10% stake in Zohr from Eni last year, invested more in Egypt in 2016 than in any other country and will do so again this year, the company’s CEO Bob Dudley said at the same event.

Kerogen commits $50 mln to Energean Israel - THE PE HUB NETOWORK / ENERGEAN OIL & GAS

February 15, 2017
By Iris Dorbian

Kerogen Capital has agreed to invest $50 million in Energean Israel, an Energean subsidiary and operator of the Karish and Tanin gas fields in offshore Israel. After the closing of the deal, which will need to be approved by the Israeli government, Kerogen will own a 50 percent stake in Energean Israel.

PRESS RELEASE - ENERGEAN OIL & GAS

ATHENS, Greece–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Energean Oil & Gas (“Energean”) is pleased to announce that Kerogen Capital (“Kerogen”) has committed to invest an initial US$50 million in Energean Israel, a subsidiary of Energean, ahead of the planned $1.3 billion development of the Karish and Tanin gas fields, offshore Israel.

Noble, Barclays Work on $1 Billion Tamar Stake Saleby - BLOOMBERG

15 February 2017, 2:49 p.m. EET

Yaacov Benmeleh

• Noble seeking to spin off stake into SPC, pay dividend
• Sale talks value Tamar gas field up to 20% more than last year

Noble Energy Inc. is working with Barclays Plc on the sale of a 7.5 percent stake in the offshore Tamar natural gas field, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The company and its advisers -- which include another unidentified bank -- are approaching institutional investors for the sale, which may be worth between $1 billion and $1.1 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified as the talks aren’t public.

Noble is seeking to convert the stake into a special-purpose company and raise debt totaling about 50 percent to 60 percent of its value, one of the people said. This would be paid to shareholders as a dividend, the person said.

Revealed: Israel Pledged to Place Jordan’s Natural Gas Needs Before Its Own - HAARETZ

Feb 15, 2017 5:27 AMAvi Bar-Eli 

Details of a letter to Amman, signed by Netanyahu and Energy Minister Steinitz, was obtained by Haaretz after the government refused to confirm it even exists.

Israel has committed to Jordan that it will give Jordanian natural gas needs preference over Israel’s in times of shortages, according to a letter signed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz.

Details of the letter, obtained by Haaretz columnist Nehemia Shtrasler, were published Tuesday in Haaretz’s Hebrew edition after government ministries refused to confirm that the letter existed at all.

The letter commits to Amman that the quantity of gas exported from the Leviathan offshore reserve will not drop under the contractually agreed volume for the duration of the 15-year contract.

EU gets wake-up call as Gazprom eyes rival TAP pipeline - EURACTIV / REUTERS

15.2.2017, 7:58
Georgi Gotev | EurActiv.com with Reuters

Russian gas from Turkish Stream could flow to the EU via the TAP pipeline. Gazprom plans to use Pioneering Spirit, the world’s largest construction vessel, to build Turkish Stream gas pipeline’s offshore section.

Gazprom’s bid to tap into a pipeline meant to wean Europe off Russian gas threatens to undermine a pillar of European energy policy and slow plans to develop rival deposits in the eastern Mediterranean.

As the European Union struggles against the “iron embrace” of Russian pipelines, it has made opening a new Southern Gas Corridor to carry gas from Azerbaijan by 2020 a priority.

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.

Oil companies bullish on Egypt, eyeing more investment, discoveries - REUTERS

The logo of oil company Eni-Saipem is pictured on a barrel in
Rome, Italy, March 5 2016 - REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

Tue Feb 14, 2017 | 5:58pm GMT
Lin Noueihed, Eric Knecht, CAIRO; Writing by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Susan Fenton, Greg Mahlich

Major international oil companies say they plan to step up their investments in Egypt, expecting to find more oil and gas now that ENI's (ENI.MI) giant Zohr gas discovery has put its Mediterranean waters on the map.

Once a net gas exporter, Egypt has turned into a major importer in recent years as growing domestic demand outstripped production, but the discovery of the 850 billion-cubic metre Zohr field in 2015 is expected to change that.

The field is expected to come into production by the end of the year and will save Egypt billions of dollars in hard currency that would otherwise be spent on imports.

Egypt nearing deal with Iraq in search for crude oil imports - REUTERS

Tue Feb 14, 2017 | 12:02pm EST
Lin Noueihed, Eric Knecht, Asma Alsharif; Editing by Jason Neely and Alexander Smith

Egypt is nearing a deal to import crude oil from Iraq and is looking to other countries to help secure supply, Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation's chief Tarek al-Hadidi said.

Cairo's search for additional crude comes after Saudi Arabia's state oil firm Saudi Aramco halted shipments of oil products to Egypt last year.

The $23 billion Saudi aid deal had included 700,000 tonnes of refined oil products per month for five years. Aramco has never provided a reason for why the deal was halted.

Noble Energy to spend $550mn on Leviathan in 2017 - NATURAL GAS WORLD

February 14th, 2017, 9:35am
Ya'acov Zalel

US producer Noble Energy will invest $550mn in the development of Israel's Leviathan gas field "with first gas targeted for the end of 2019," the company said in its guidance for 2017. This is about a fifth of its total spend for the year, which, at $2.3bn, is up by 50% from 2016.

Noble Energy announced February 13 better-than-expected results for Q4 2016 and the full year. The company reported a net loss of $998mn for 2016 compared with a net loss of $2.44bn in 2015. In the last quarter the company reported a net loss of $252mn compared with $2bn a year earlier. The heavy losses in Q4 2015 were mainly due to impairments.

Despite the net loss, the company registered a $1.3bn net cash from operating activities, a non-GAAP measure.

What Trump means for Israel's energy sector - ISRAEL POLICY FORUM / MATZAV BLOG

February 13, 2017
Allison W. Good

The transition from the Obama administration to the Trump administration is bound to usher in a host of policy changes for Israel, but perhaps nowhere will this be felt more acutely than in energy policy. Despite the plethora of implications that eastern Mediterranean natural gas reserves have for international energy security and geopolitics, the region – and Israel more specifically – must prepare for a more hands-off U.S. approach. Since gas was first discovered in the Levant Basin in 2009, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Cyprus, and Turkey benefited from an administration willing to spend political capital on clearing obstacles to development. President Trump’s isolationist energy platform and pro-Russian bent may not intentionally hinder the exploration, development, and distribution of eastern Mediterranean gas, but it does remove the active U.S. foreign policy factor that has helped speed up the exploitation of this resource.

Eni and BP complete 10% sale of Shorouk, offshore Egypt - WORLD OIL

2/13/2017

CAIRO -- Eni’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi, Bob Dudley, CEO of BP, and the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum, Tarek El Molla signed a deed completing the sale to BP of a 10% stake in the Shorouk concession, offshore Egypt. The signing took place in Cairo in the presence of the Prime Minister Sherif Ismail. Eni and BP first agreed on the sale of the concession stake, where the super-giant Zohr gas field is located, in November 2016. Eni, through its subsidiary IEOC, now holds a 90% stake in the license, while Rosneft has agreed to acquire a 30% stake, subject to the Egyptian governmental approval.

Additionally, Claudio Descalzi has been received by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The meeting follows the one held in January during which Eni’s CEO confirmed that the development of Zohr is progressing very quickly, having been fast tracked, and that the start of production is confirmed for 2017, just two year after the discovery was made.

Turkey to experience no gas shortages in winter - DAILY SABAH

13.2.2017

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak said on Sunday that all necessary measures have been taken to ensure that Turkey will not experience gas shortages in winter anymore.

Albayrak stated that Turkey's natural gas consumption was increasing due to the country's development, the proliferation of natural gas and the increase in industrial production. He added that seasonality also played a large role in gas consumption.

Turkey reached a record high on the first Monday of 2016 with 232 million cubic meters of natural gas consumption, which was managed without any problems, the Energy Minister said.

Greece's Energean Offers to Sell Gas to Israel Electric Corp. at a Discount - HAARETZ

Energean CEO Mathios Rigas. Credit Ofer Vaknin

Feb 13, 2017 12:04 AMAvi Bar-Eli 

Greek company proposes bargain rate to secure key contract for its Karish and Tanin fields in Israel, which it purchased last year.

Energean Oil & Gas, the Greek company that bought Israel’s Karish and Tanin offshore natural-gas fields last year, has offered to sell natural gas to Israel Electric Corporation for around 25% less than IEC is currently paying, beginning in 2021, TheMarker has learned.

The offer is for the sale of about 1 billion cubic meters a year more than IEC is already contracted to buy from the Tamar field. That field is controlled by Noble Energy, Delek Group and Isramco.

The price would be from $4.50 to $4.60 per million British thermal units, compared to the $6 IEC will likely have to pay in 2021 based on the formula in the 2012 contract it signed with the Tamar partners, TheMarker has learned.

EGAS looking to borrow EGP 2 bn - ENTERPRISE / AL MAL

Monday, 13 February 2017

EGAS is in talks with domestic banks for an EGP 2 bn loan to cover debt obligations including those to international oil companies, Al Mal reported. The banks include NBE, Banque Misr, Banque du Caire, CIB, AAIB, QNB, ADIB, and Alex Bank, sources said. EGAS wants to pay the loan back over five years with a two-year grace period over which the loan will be completely issued and spent. This could come as good news for Dana Gas that has reportedly frozen its investments in Egypt over USD 265 mn of unpaid dues as of the end of 2016.

Israel's future as an energy exporter may require engaging Russia - JERUSALEM POST

THE LOGO of oil company Eni is pictured at its headquarters in
Rome, Italy. Eni’s giant Zohr gas find in Egypt is part of a wider
energy sector in the Middle East. (photo credit:REUTERS)

FEBRUARY 12, 2017 21:03 
MICHAEL TANCHUM

One key to avoiding this predicament may be for Israel to engage Russia as a stakeholder in its energy development. 

One of Israel’s geopolitical facts of life is that it sits between Turkey and Egypt. These two major Middle Eastern actors also constitute Israel’s two possible export routes for bringing Israeli natural gas to market.

However, Cairo’s announcement last week of impending new natural gas discoveries off Egypt’s coast combined with the disappointing results of last month’s historic Cyprus reunification talks in Geneva raise the specter that Israel may find itself without a way for its gas to reach international markets.

One key to avoiding this predicament may be for Israel to engage Russia as a stakeholder in its energy development.

Dana Gas freezes investment in Egypt over delayed payments - ENTERPRISE

Sunday, 12 February 2017

Dana Gas says it is freezing investments in Egypt. The company will not inject new investments in the country because of delays in obtaining payments owed to it by the government, CEO Patrick Allman-Ward said, according to Reuters. 

Dana Gas says it is owed USD 265 mn as of the end of 2016, up from USD 221 mn by 2015’s end. "As uncertainty remains we must therefore be rigorous in balancing any additional capital investment in Egypt with actual collections," Allman-Ward said. 

His eyes are on the USD 5.5 bn Egypt raised through eurobond issuances and loans from the World Bank and African Development Bank, which he believes could be used to pay down debt owed to IOCs. Dana Gas recently announced it posted a USD 7 mn net profit in 4Q2016, down from USD 134 mn in 4Q2015.

Lebanon should relax bidding conditions to benefit from any deepwater gas finds - THE NATIONAL (UAE)

February 12, 2017 01:51 PM
Robin Mills

Snow fell across Lebanon over the New Year, and power cuts plunged towns in the Bekaa valley into darkness. Syrian refugees in Akkar huddled in their tents. Meanwhile, as Egypt and Israel forge ahead with developing their offshore gasfields, the inviting Mediterranean waters seem to hold the elusive solution to the country’s energy and economic woes.

Lebanon thinks the time has come for its own deepwater gas wealth. The election in October of a new president, Michel Aoun, after an interregnum of more than two years, has permitted the passage of two crucial decrees enabling exploration bids. Eni’s giant Zohr find off Egypt, less than 300 kilometres from Lebanese waters, has raised optimism about the area.

Beirut has divided its offshore into 10 blocks. Five will be offered in the initial round, with a deadline in September – numbers 8, 9 and 10, along the disputed maritime border with Israel, block 1 on the Syrian frontier in the north, and block 4 in the middle.

Post-Zohr reforms to boost appeal - ENERGY EGYPT / UPSTREAM ONLINE

February 11, 2017

With first production from Eni’s giant discovery likely to be less than a year away and other finds on the path to development, the country is taking the chance to revamp and streamline the bidding process.

Egypt’s upstream sector was given a much-­needed boost when Italian operator Eni discovered the ­giant Zohr field in the summer of 2015.

With first production from Zohr now likely to be less than a year away and other significant discoveries also on their way to production, there is a much more optimistic view of the country’s potential, despite the economic and political challenges it still faces.

Now, though, with Eni having attracted new investors to Zohr in the form of UK supermajor BP and Russian state-owned giant Rosneft, plus new acreage having been awarded from outstanding rounds, Egypt is pausing its licensing rounds in both the promising gas-prone Mediterranean Sea and the mature oil-bearing onshore areas.

Players’ healthy interest outside Egypt’s Nile Delta - ENERGY EGYPT / UPSTREAM ONLINE

February 11, 2017

Future upstream licensing in Egypt’s Nile Delta offshore province may be facing a hiatus, but the most recent round to have been completed by state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation signalled healthy interest by players in other acreages.

Smaller, cash-strapped players were not much in evidence during the 2016 round, covering acreage in the Gulf of Suez and Western Desert, but US player Apache, a stalwart in the latter play, Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell and its UK counterpart BP all took on acreage.

Apache won the North-West Razzak and South Alam El Shawish blocks in the Western Desert, where it is the dominant oil producer, while in the same region Shell picked up North Umbaraka.

BP took on North-East Ramadan in the mature Gulf of Suez, where it has long been dominant.

One newcomer in the round was US private equity-backed Apex International Energy, which won South-East Meleiha and West Badr El Din in the Western Desert.

Egyptian state gas operator EGAS, on the other hand, missed a bid round last year.

Its most recent tender in 2015, carried out before the Zohr discovery, was regarded as disappointing by some as it saw only four out of the 12 blocks on offer taken up.

However, any disappointment was tempered by the fact that the acreage awarded was taken on by major European companies, including a significant newcomer.

France’s Total made its debut in Egypt by earning a share in the North El Hammad block in partnership with BP and Eni, while the latter two also took on North Ras El Esh and BP went solo at North El Tabya.

The final block, Northeast Hapy, was secured by Edison of Italy.

SOURCE/Upstream Online

Is Russia really meddling with Cyprus? - IN CYPRUS / CYPRUS WEEKLY

Limassol, Feb. 28, 2014: Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades (C)
gets a tour of the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov 

February 11, 2017
Fiona Mullen

In the past few weeks there have been three articles in well-respected media outlets suggesting that Russia is trying to prevent a solution to the Cyprus problem. The first was published by Politico on January 12, the second by Bloomberg on January 16 and the third by the New York Times on February 5.

The general argument is that Russia is actively undermining efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem, which they tie to its energy and security interests, and that Cypriots are worried about this. Setting aside the uncanny timing of the articles, these assumptions are rather tenuous for a number of reasons.


The energy angle

First, let’s take the idea that Russia fears competition from Eastern Mediterranean gas. Russia has 1,140 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven natural gas reserves—the second largest in the world after Iran—according to the latest BP Statistical Review of World Energy. Eastern Mediterranean gas finds in the past few years in Israel, Egypt and Cyprus (not all of which are proven) amount to around 70 tcf.

Connecting the East Med - IN CYPRUS / CYPRUS WEEKLY

February 11, 2017
Spyros Papavassiliou

Constantinos Papalucas is a former Associate with the Environment and Natural Resources Program (ENRP) at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs where he focused on the issues surrounding the gas finds and the emerging energy hubs in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Asked about the state of the global market for gas and oil, Papalucas says that the world has enjoyed a period of low prices of oil, but also low prices of natural gas, because of the existence of oil-linked natural gas contracts.

In addition, since the end of 2014, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market is in an oversupply mode, creating an LNG glut.

“The demand from the world’s three largest players – Japan, Korea and China, which make for 60% of the global LNG imports – declined,” says Papalucas, who has also served on the US House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Leviathan FID faces risk of indefinite delay - NATURAL GAS WORLD

February 10th, 2017 9:40am
Ya'acov Zalel

The next two weeks could be crucial for the Leviathan gas field development as the operator, Noble Energy, is due to publish its annual report February 14 and its planned operations and investment budget for 2017. And on February 20, Delek Group has either to exercise a $1.75bn bank loan for the field development, or decline it. That decision is dependent on specific conditions, which were not disclosed, as well as upon Noble Energy's final investment decision (FID). If the FID is not positive, taking the loan would be irresponsible.

On the face of it, Delek is eager to move forward with Leviathan development, despite a dearth of sales contracts (PSAs) while Noble Energy has kept silent on the issue.

Can East Med gas be exported? - FINANCIAL MIRROR

10 February, 2017 

Costis Stambolis

Highly complex and conflicting circumstances make it difficult for long term plans
The question is not rhetorical and alludes to the fact that ten years after the discovery of the gigantic Leviathan field offshore in Israel and six years after the finding of the smaller, but significant nevertheless, Aphrodite reservoir within Cyprus’ EEZ, not a single cubic foot of gas has been exported, nor is it likely any time soon. And this is not because of the limited size of the reservoirs discovered so far or lack of interest on the part of investors or even the difficult seabed terrain, but rather because of the highly complex, and often conflicting, circumstances which currently exist and make it difficult for the laying out of adequate long term plans for the exploitation of the extensive hydrocarbon potential of the region.

Israel Puts Off License Award In First Offshore Oil, Gas Bid Round - OIL PRICE

Feb 10, 2017, 3:26 PM CST
Tsvetana Paraskova

Israel has extended the original deadlines for each step of its first offshore oil and gas bid round launched last November, Energy Minister Yuval Steiniz said on Thursday.

Under the original plan for re-opening Israel’s offshore to new oil and gas exploration, the country announced its first bid round for development of resources in its territorial waters. At the time, minister Steiniz quoted independent research as having estimated that there are additional resources in a range of 6.6 billion barrels of oil and 2,137 BCM of natural gas yet to be found offshore Israel. The ministry is auctioning off 24 exploration blocks of up to 400 square kilometers (154.4 square miles) each, and will award 3-year licenses, extendable by another 3 years under certain conditions. In order to keep a healthy competition, companies with significant holdings in active offshore leases in the area are not allowed to bid. That means that Israel’s Delek and U.S.-based Noble Energy – which are developing the giant Leviathan natural gas field – are not bidding.

Turkey’s giant gas storage facility opens - HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

February/10/2017

Turkey’s Tuz Lake gas storage facility, which is expected to increase capacity from 1.2 billion cubic meters (bcm) to as much as 5 bcm per year, was opened in an official ceremony on Feb. 10 in the Central Anatolian province of Aksaray.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan thanked officials and businesspeople who took part in the development of the project, noting that another key investment would take place again in the same area.

“In addition to the facility with a 1.2 bcm of gas capacity, which we have opened today, we are also starting a new investment today. With this new investment, the gas storage capacity will increase up to 5.4 bcm. When this investment becomes online, Turkey’s daily gas storage capacity will rise to 80 million cubic meters,” he said.

LNG fleet operator GasLog closes deal to buy 20% stake in Greece's Gastrade - PLATTS

London (Platts)--9 Feb 2017 924 am EST/1424 GMTStuart Elliott, Edited by Dan Lalor

• Gastrade is developing 6.1 Bcm/year Alexandroupolis LNG project
• FID set for 2017, FSRU to be operational by end-2019
• Plant has attracted interest of LNG producers, including US, Qatar 

LNG tanker fleet operator GasLog has closed a deal to take a 20% stake in Greek energy company Gastrade which is developing the planned 6.1 Bcm/year floating LNG facility at Alexandroupolis in northern Greece, the companies said Thursday.

GasLog's equity position in Gastrade will "materially contribute in the development of the Alexandroupolis project", Gastrade said.

A change of course - LNG INDUSTRY

Thursday, 09 February 2017 08:57
Richard Bass

A discussion held 10 years ago about East Mediterranean gas would have focused on Egypt. It would have concentrated specifically on the quantity of pipeline gas that Egypt could export regionally and the capability of its two LNG terminals to compete for customers in Europe, North America, and Asia. Fast forward to today, and any discussion of East Mediterranean gas would consider when Egypt will cease to be a significant LNG importer, as well as the prospects for gas exports from Israel and Cyprus. So how, in less than a decade, have the region’s circumstances changed so markedly? And what is the next decade going to look like?

Dana Gas profit falls 77 per cent last year amid lower oil prices and climbing Egypt arrears - THE NATIONAL (UAE)

February 9, 2017 12:28 PM
Anthony McAuley

Dana Gas said profit was hit by lower oil prices last year despite higher output, and it warned that investment in its growing Egypt operation might have to be curtailed until the government there resolves its arrears issue.

The Sharjah-based gas producer said its output climbed by 5 per cent last year as it ramped up Egyptian production, but profit fell 77 per cent because of lower oil and gas prices and the effect of a one-off payment in 2015.

The company said preliminary profit for last year was US$33 million, down from $144m the year before, with the previous year’s profit flattered by a one-off gain of $208m from settlement of a dispute with German energy company RWE over Pearl Petroleum, the consortium operating the Khor Mor and Chemchemal gasfields in the Kurdistan region in Iraq.

Excluding the RWE payment, Dana Gas lost $64m in 2015 as oil prices came down faster than its costs.

Bapetco increases Obayed field production to 140k boepd - ENTERPRISE

Thursday, 9 February 2017

Production from the Obayed natural gas field in the Western Desert increased to140k boepd the Oil Ministry told Al Masry Al Youm.

Natural gas production increased to 515 mcf/d and crude and condensates output to 47.4k b/d.

The Obayed field is operated by Royal Dutch Shell JV Bapetco.

Sandvik win regional contracts in MENA - OIL REVIEW MIDDLE EAST

Wednesday, 08 February 2017 07:01

Sandvik have secured multi-million dollar strategic projects in Egypt and established its regional headquarters in Dubai, UAE

Sandvik, a developer and producer of advanced stainless steels, special alloys, titanium, and other high-performance materials, announced on 8 February that it has secured a number of strategic projects offshore Egypt to provide oil and gas solutions for the region. The value of the contracts in at least US$107mn.

Sandvik has seen double-digit growth in the region over the past three years and recently established its EMEA Oil and Gas headquarters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

MIDOR raises refining capacity by 15% - ENTERPRISE

Wednesday, 8 February 2017

MIDOR has raised its daily refining capacity by 15% to 115k bbl in January 2017, an unnamed official at the company told Reuters. The increase is attributed to the USD 20 mn first phase of the company’s expansion plan, he added.

The second phase begins in 2H2017 to raise the daily capacity to 160k bbl, the official said.

The Oil Ministry has reportedly hinted last week that it is looking at using excess capacity at MIDOR to refine imported Iraqi crude.

Rockhopper Exploration plc Operational and Corporate Update, Abu Sennan, Egypt (RKH 22% working interest - ROCKHOPPER EXPLORATION PLC

7 February 2017

The work programme and budget for the Abu Sennan Concession sees the imminent drilling of both an exploration and a development well close to the Al Jahraa and Al Jahraa SE fields (over which a new development lease was awarded in Q4 2016) during the first half of 2017.

The exploration well, Al Jahraa-SE2, which is due to spud in March 2017, will target the AR-C reservoir in the fault block immediately to the south of the Al Jahraa SE field.

EuroAfrica cable enters crucial phase - CYPRUS MAIL

February 7, 2017

Angelos Anastasiou

The EuroAfrica Interconnector, a planned subsea electric cable connecting the Egyptian, Cypriot and Greek power grids to continental Europe has entered a crucial phase of conducting project studies with a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding among all parties having taken place on Monday.

The officials attending the signing ceremony in Cairo endorsed their commitment to implementing the EuroAfrica Interconnector energy bridge connecting Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece with the European electric network with 2000MW.
The aim of EuroAfrica is to offer significant economic and geopolitical benefits to the involved countries and contribute to the European Union’s target for 10 per cent of electricity interconnection between member states.

President of EuroAfrica Interconnector Nasos Ktorides said that this inspired partnership can only bring benefits to the three participating nations.

Egypt Pays Eni $650 Million Under Zohr Development Deal - HART ENERGY / REUTERS

Tuesday, February 7, 2017 - 2:09pm

Egypt paid its $630 million financial obligation in January to Italy's Eni to develop the biggest gas fields ever found in the Mediterranean, Rami Aboul Naga, assistant sub-governor for foreign reserves at the Central Bank of Egypt, told state news agency MENA on Feb. 7.

Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla said in January Egypt was committed to repaying the $3.5 billion it owes in arrears to foreign oil companies, but a foreign currency shortage has made drawing down those debts more difficult.

Egypt's foreign reserves rose to $26.363 billion at the end of January, but were still about $10 billion less than the reserves before an uprising in 2011 ushered in a period of political turmoil, scaring away tourists and foreign investors, key sources of hard currency.

DOF lands two contracts in Egypt - ENERGY EGYPT / UPSTREAM ONLINE

February 7, 2017

Norwegian player awarded two contracts with a large international contractor.

Oslo-listed marine services player DOF has been awarded two contracts with a large international contractor in Egypt.

The work, which is expected to start in February, will involve the Skandi Saigon and Skandi Sotra vessels, DOF said on Monday. [Skandi Sotra is a PSV, MT 6000 and Skandi Saigon an AHTS, Vard AH08 design.]

Both contracts have a duration of 75 days and a 30 days options. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

New project to produce 400k tonnes of butane -Oil Ministry - ENTERPRISE / AL SHOROUK

Tuesday, 7 February 2017

The Assiut Oil Refining Company (ASORC) is building a new EGP 187 mn project to produce butane at an annual rate of 400k tonnes, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla told Al Shorouk. 

The project will double ASORC’s daily production from 60 tonnes to 120 tonnes, said Chairman Nagy Kassab, which will increase to 190 tonnes after a high-octane gasoline complex goes into operation.

Qatar Petroleum seeks international projects in Cyprus, Morocco - GULF BUSINESS / REUTERS

Tuesday 07 February 2017

QP is merging two liquefied natural gas divisions, Qatargas and RasGas

State-owned energy giant Qatar Petroleum (QP) is exploring oil and gas in Morocco and Cyprus as it aims to expand its liquefied natural gas (LNG) assets abroad while trimming costs at home, chief executive Saad al-Kaabi said on Monday.

“You will see us going internationally with some of the partners we have in Qatar, this year and next year… We are in growth mode,” Kaabi told reporters at the company’s headquarters in Doha.

QP, the world’s largest LNG producer, has been pursuing deals in Cyprus where it “won a bid for 40 per cent of a plot for exploration” and recently “went into Morocco for exploration”, Kaabi said.

Egypt, energy reform underway - ABOUT OIL

February 6, 2017

Giuseppe Acconcia

By March 2017, Cairo will reorganize the oil industry and Egypt's national energy company EGPC, whilst adhering to the demands of the International Monetary Fund, which is preparing to grant the second tranche of the $12 billion loan
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has ensured that Egypt is complying with its commitments to economic policy made to obtain the second tranche of the $12 billion loan from the international body. The announcement of the delivery of the second instalment will take place at the end of February in Cairo, to coincide with the visit of the IMF board to the Egyptian capital. After six years of political instability that have kept tourists and investors at bay, the IMF has finally decided to grant Cairo the promised loan. The measure was approved in November 2016, with the delivery of the first tranche of $2.75 billion. Chris Jarvis, head of the IMF mission in Cairo, explained that ''although the economic indicators for December have not yet been published, the criteria for obtaining the second part of the loan are expected to have been met''. However, cuts in public spending and increased prices could involve risks to Egypt’s political stability, while reforms required in the oil and energy market are still far from realization.

Constantinos Papalucas on US and EU Pipelines, EastMed, Gas Hubs and Turkey (English Subtitles)

Recent interview of Constantinos Papalucas on US/EU Pipelines, East Med, Gas Hubs and Turkey (In Greek, English Subtitles) on ANTENNA's (ANT1) daily show with Nikitas Kyriakou (06/02/2017). Constantinos Papalucas is a former Associate with the Environment and Natural Resources Program (ENRP) at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs where he focused on the issues surrounding the gas finds and the emerging energy hubs in the Eastern Mediterranean (Connecting the East Med - IN CYPRUS / CYPRUS WEEKLY).



SOURCE

Egypt said to seek LNG as BP, Eni gas flow to restore exports - WORLD OIL / BLOOMBERG

2/6/2017
SALMA EL WARDANY

CAIRO (Bloomberg) -- Egypt plans to import as many as 108 cargoes of liquefied natural gas this year as the country prepares to start producing at two gas fields and move closer to its goal of self-sufficiency and even exports by 2019.

The North African nation will import 100 to 108 LNG shipments this year, including 43 to 45 cargoes in government-to-government contracts from Oman, Russia’s Rosneft PJSC and France’s Engie SA, according to a person familiar with the matter. The remaining imports will be arranged through a tender to be announced in November, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.

Imports may be reduced in 2018 as BP Plc’s North Alexandria concession works to start gas production in April and Eni SpA’s giant Zohr field plans to produce by the end of the year, the person said. BP bought a 10% stake in Zohr from Eni last year, giving it access to the largest discovery in the Mediterranean Sea amid a regional race for offshore oil and gas deposits.

Huge Gas Finds Can Keep Europe Warm If the Arguing Stops - BLOOMBERG

TEKMOR note: We see little chance of an Israel-Turkey pipeline without
a resolution of Cyprus' Turkey problem. The East Med pipeline (#3)
makes infinitely more sense politically and geosrategically. 

6 February 2017, 8:00 a.m.

David Wainer

• East Mediterranean is sitting on reservoir of untapped fuel
• But almost every pipeline route requires fix to old feuds

As the helicopter roars its way west from the Tel Aviv coast, two dots emerge from the featureless blue. Closer up, they begin to take shape: Giant platforms for extracting gas from under the Mediterranean Sea.

“A few years ago, there was nothing to see around here,” Yossi Abu yells from the front seats. And soon, according to the Delek Drilling LP CEO, there’ll be more. He points northwards. “Over there, we’ll build a new platform,” he says. “To export gas to Egypt and Turkey.”

Abu makes it sound easy. It won’t be. Hundreds of miles of undersea pipelines will cost billions of dollars and pose a technical challenge for their designers. And even that task is dwarfed by the political engineering required to build stable energy routes through a conflict-ridden region.

Molla in talks with Petronas over Borollos gas field phase 9B - ENTERPRISE / AL BORSA

Sunday, 5 February 2017

Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla discussed the USD 950 mn plan to develop phase 9B of the Borollos gas field with the head of Malaysia’s Petronas on Saturday, Al Borsa reported. The project involves drilling eight new wells with a daily capacity of 387 mcf.

Egyptian LNG (ELNG) is a joint venture between PETRONAS and partners Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, BG Group, and Gaz de France.


The ELNG project comprises the development and operation of an LNG liquefaction plant and related infrastructure at Idku, approximately 50 kilometres east of Alexandria in Egypt. Currently, two trains are up and running, each at a capacity of 3.6 million tonnes per annum. PETRONAS’ capabilities in the project management and development of a fully-integrated LNG operation was again proven as ELNG set a record of being the world’s fastest developed LNG project – six years from the first exploration well to the lifting of the first cargo in 2005. The ELNG plant receives its feedstock from PETRONAS’ upstream operations in the offshore West Delta Deep Marine concession, in which it is a 50:50 equity partner.

Russia Looks At Greece As Gas Gateway To Europe - OIL PRICE / THE JAMESTOWN FOUNDATION

Feb 05, 2017, 11:09 PM CST

Gulmira Rzayeva via Jamestown.org

The Greek private limited company Gastrade, owned by the Greek conglomerate Coupelouzos Group, has been licensed to develop a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), which would allow for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from various sources, including the United States, to northeastern Greece (Energypress.gr, December 22, 2016). Located off the coast of Alexandroupolis, the FSRU system is linked to a 29 kilometer subsea and onshore pipeline (25 km offshore and 4 km onshore), with a daily capacity of 16.8 million cubic meters of gas per day. Gastrade plans to import LNG through this project into the country, whereas the Monaco-registered LNG ship-owner GasLog will be responsible for shipping the gas.
According to current plans, the imported LNG will be regasified at Alexandroupolis and transported onward via the so-called Vertical Corridor, which will extend all the way to the Bulgarian market. From there, those volumes could supply other countries in Central and Eastern Europe or even Turkey, assuming that proves to be economically viable. But if that happens, those LNG imports might end up competing in the Bulgarian and Turkish markets with future gas volumes from Azerbaijan’s offshore Shah Deniz Stage 2 production project. The FSRU in Alexandroupolis is included on the European Union’s list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI), which means that this project is eligible to be financed (340 million euros, equivalent to $367 million) by the European Investment Bank (EIB) between 2016 and 2018 (Eib.org, accessed January 11, 2017).

Egypt to export gas in H2 of 2019: EGAS chairperson - DAILY NEWS EGYPT

Saturday February 4, 2017Mohamed Farag 

100 million cubic feet of gas allocated to run Siemens power plants

Chairperson of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) Mohamed El Masry said that Egypt is set to begin exporting natural gas in the second half (H2) of 2019.

He added that Egypt is on track to achieve self-sufficiency through the discovery of the Zohr gas field in the Mediterranean waters.

He pointed out that warning letters have been sent to factories to pay their arrears based on the scheduling scheme approved by the EGAS, especially since part of the arrears have been dropped.

He noted that all factories receive 100% of their gas needs.

Stalled Cyprus unity talks catalyst, not deal breaker - NEW EUROPE

Cyprus’ Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis (L) signs an agreement
on the transfer of natural gas through a direct undersea pipeline
from Cyprus' EEZ towards Egypt, in Nicosia, Cyprus, August 31, 2016.
Lakkotrypis told New Europe on February 1, 2017, that exports
from Cyprus’ Aphrodite field are planned for Egypt.

FEBRUARY 3, 2017, 21:46 
Kostis Geropoulos

ATHENS – Cyprus hopes the new US Administration of Donald Trump will continue supporting the strategic interests of Nicosia and Washington in East Mediterranean, Cyprus’ Energy Minister told New Europe.

Nicosia and Washington share common strategic interests, Cyprus’ Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said on the sidelines of the Athens Energy Forum on February 1.

“We have a very close relationship with the State Department. We’re very close and we look forward to the see the new Administration and to start discussions. I’m sure they will be briefed. I cannot comment on that because we haven’t see yet who our counterparts in the US will be,” Lakkotrypis said.

He said that Cyprus could help boost the EU’s energy security and play a role in the EU Energy Union. “We’re discussing with the European Union a number of projects of common interest that will help us to ship the gas from Cyprus to Europe, involving Israel, involving Egypt, involving, of course, Greece, which is another member state,” Cyprus’ Energy Minister said.

Israel made NIS 3B in natural gas royalties in 2016, minister says - ISRAEL HAYOM

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, Thursday

Friday February 3, 2017Shlomo Cesana

• A delegation from the Turkish Energy Ministry is expected to visit Israel next week for talks on a joint pipeline project, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz says

• Israel is pursuing a similar venture with Italy, in a project involving Greece and Cyprus.

Israel's royalties from the production of natural gas came to 3 billion shekels ($798 billion) in 2016, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said Thursday, during a media tour aboard the Atwood Advantage, an ultra-deepwater drill ship exploring the Tamar offshore gas field.

Atwood Advantage is one of the three largest vessels of its kind in the world. It is expected to finish its work in Tamar by April 2017 and move on to the development of the nearby Leviathan offshore gas field.

Naval patrol boat gift from Oman 'too big' for Cyprus naval bases - SKY NEWS

The patrol boat is en route to Cyprus (photo: Phileleftheros)

UK, Friday 03 February 2017, 13:11

The island nation is looking at extending its military maritime facilities to provide a berth for the 200ft vessel.

A patrol boat given as a gift to Cyprus by Oman is too big to dock at the island's main naval base, according to reports.

Instead the 61m (200ft) boat - Cyprus' first open sea vessel - will have to moor at the civilian ports of either Limassol or Larnaca when it arrives next week, said the Phileleftheros newspaper.

Oman paid for a £3.4m refit of the boat, which weighs 948 tonnes and has a top speed of 15 knots.

It was given as a 'thank you' for the warm welcome the Oman defence minister received when he visited the island in November 2013.

The vessel, due to arrive at the island next week, is being crewed by Omani and Cypriot officers during its voyage to the island so that sailors from the sultanate can train the new crew.

A second craft, bought from Israel, is expected to be added to the modest Cypriot navy in December.

Egypt to import 43-45 LNG cargoes in deal with Oman, Russia and France - AL ARABIYA / REUTERS

Thursday, 2 February 2017 KSA 16:56 - GMT 13:56

Egypt has reached an agreement to import between 43 and 45 cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Oman, Russia and France from March through to the end of 2017, the head of state gas company EGAS said on Thursday.

The agreements include terms that allow for payment within six months, EGAS head Mohamed al-Masry said.

Masry added that Egypt will become a gas exporter once it reaches self-suffiency, expected during 2019.

Energean Appoints TechnipFMC as Concept and Engineering Design Contractor for Karish and Tanin FPSO, Israel - ENERGEAN OIL & GAS

February 2, 2017

Energean Oil & Gas (“Energean” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce that it has appointed TechnipFMC as the Concept and Front End Engineering Design (FEED) contractor for the Karish and Tanin development programme. This follows Energean’s recent decision to develop the Fields using a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (“FPSO”) unit to facilitate the quickest route to market in line with the Government of Israel’s gas strategy.

TechnipFMC is a global leader in oil and gas subsea, onshore/offshore and surface contracting. It has highly relevant experience in deep water development programmes analogous to Karish and Tanin, and has delivered some of the largest FPSO units in the world including the Akpo, Nkossa, Girassol and Dalia fields. Its broader subsea capabilities mean that it is well placed to design and configure a fully integrated infrastructure for the Karish and Tanin projects.

Israel producing record electricity from gas electricity - GLOBES

2 Feb, 2017 15:15
Nati Yefet

8,258 megawatts out of 11,936 megawatts were produced by gas-driven turbines.

A new record in gas-produced electricity has been set: 69% of all electricity produced in Israel. The Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22) reported that it had measured electricity production yesterday at 11,936 megawatts, of which 8,258 megawatts had been produced by gas-driven turbines, and the rest using coal and other sources.

IEC's own production totaled 8,592 megawatts, 72.5% of the total, while private producers used gas to produce 2,268 megawatts.