Egypt’s LNG imports nosedive in January - LNG WORLD NEWS

9 FEB 2018

Egypt’s imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) declined dramatically in January as the country is gearing towards halting the imports due to increase in domestic gas production.

The country’s LNG imports in January dropped 66% year-on-year, pursuing the downward trend registered in the fourth quarter last year when they declined 40 percent as production from new fields ramp up, according to the France-based international association for gas, Cedigaz.

The Cedigaz infographic shows that only Qatar and Norway supplied LNG to Egypt in January.

Egypt that has turned a net importer over the course of 2016, due to falling production, has deployed two FSRUs in Ain Sokhna that serve as the country’s import terminals.

Egypt’s West Kalabsha concession receives high-density 3D survey - OIL & GAS JOURNAL

HOUSTON, FEB/08/2018
Tayvis Dunnahoe

CGG and Ardiseis, subsidiary of Arabian Geophysical & Surveying Co. (Argas), have delivered 2,000 sq km of what the partners refer to as reservoir characterization-ready broadband seismic data on the West-Kalbsha survey on behalf of Apache Corp. in Egypt’s Western Desert.

The ultradense survey represents 72 million traces/sq km, which is 2-3 times denser that any survey acquired to date. In what the companies are calling a step-change, CGG deblended the data through an algorithm. The company’s CleanSweep and EmphaSeis acquired low-frequency-rich broadband data starting from 1.5 hz, which is free of the harmonic noise contamination that is known for hindering broadband high-productivity Vibroseis acquisition.

Eni/Total find natgas off Cyprus in field close to Zohr - REUTERS

FEBRUARY 8, 2018 / 12:34 PM

Reporting by Michele Kambas; editing by Jason Neely and David Evans

ATHENS (Reuters) - Italy’s Eni and France’s Total have discovered a promising natural gas field off Cyprus, Eni said on Thursday, saying the find looked geologically similar to the mammoth Zohr field off Egypt.

Further analysis was required to determine the range of gas volumes and define further exploration and appraisal operations, Eni said.

“Calypso 1 is a promising gas discovery and confirms the extension of the ‘Zohr like’ play in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),” Eni said in a statement.

Eni is the operator of the offshore block with a 50 percent participation interest, while Total is a partner with the remaining 50 percent.

The Italian oil and gas group reported the Zohr discovery in 2015. Located in the Egyptian offshore Shorouk block about 190 km north of Port Said, Zohr holds an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, the largest ever discovered in the Mediterranean.

Calypso in Cyprus’s waters is an estimated 80 km away.

In Nicosia, Cypriot Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said an “extensive column” of clean natural gas was discovered.

Eni announces a gas discovery Offshore Cyprus - ENI

San Donato Milanese (Milan), 8 February 2018

Eni has made a lean gas discovery in Block 6 Offshore Cyprus with Calypso 1 NFW. The well, which was drilled in 2,074 meters of water depth reaching a final total depth of 3,827 meters, encountered an extended gas column in rocks of Miocene and Cretaceous age. The Cretaceous sequence has excellent reservoir characteristics. Calypso 1 is a promising gas discovery and confirms the extension of the “Zohr like” play in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone.

An intensive and detailed data collection (fluids and rock samples) has been executed on the well. Calypso 1 is a promising gas discovery and confirms the extension of the “Zohr like” play in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Israel says seeks diplomatic solution to Med gas spat with Lebanon - REUTERS

FEBRUARY 7, 2018 / 4:14 PM
Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Alison Williams

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel seeks a foreign-mediated diplomatic resolution with Lebanon over a disputed Mediterranean gas field, the Israeli energy minister said on Wednesday after a surge in hostile rhetoric between the enemy countries.

“We hope for, and are prepared to move forward on, a diplomatic resolution to this matter,” Yuval Steinitz told the Ynet news site when asked about the Block 9 field, for which Lebanon has issued an oil and gas exploration tender, drawing condemnation from Israel’s defense minister last week.

Tamar partners won't cut IEC gas prices until 2021 - GLOBES

7 Feb, 2018 14:20
Kobi Yeshayahou

A report ahead of next month's bond issue by Tamar Petroleum says the partners will only revise down the price at which it sells gas to Israel Electric in 2021 and only by 12.5%.

Ahead of next month's planned bond issue by Tamar Petroleum for the purpose of completing the deal for the acquisition of 7.5% of the rights in the Tamar natural gas reservoir from Noble Energy, the partnerships in Tamar today published a revised report on the reservoir, including its projected cash flow.

Egypt warns Turkey over eastern Mediterranean economic interests - REUTERS / JERUSALEM POST

FEBRUARY 7, 2018 13:26

CAIRO - Egypt on Wednesday warned Turkey against any infringement of its economic rights in the eastern Mediterranean under a maritime border demarcation agreement signed in 2013 with Cyprus that allows exploration for gas in the area.

The discovery of the massive Zohr gas field in 2015 has spurred a race for exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, an area that is believed to hold big natural gas deposits crucial for energy-hungry Europe.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu appeared to raise objections over the 2013 agreement when he announced that Turkey was planning to start exploration work in the eastern Mediterranean soon.

Egypt raps Turkish comments on EEZ delimitation with Cyprus - CYPRUS MAIL

FEBRUARY 7, 2018

No party can question the legitimacy of the delimitation agreement between Egypt and Cyprus and any effort to undermine Egyptian sovereignty in its exclusive economic zone is dismissed and will be addressed, the Egyptian foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

In a statement in response to recent comments by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu questioning the correctness of the delimitation of the exclusive economic zones of Cyprus and Egypt, Spokesman for the Egyptian foreign ministry Ahmad Abu Zeit said, “no party could question the legitimacy of the agreement given that it is in line with the regulations of international law and has been submitted to the United Nations”.

Replying to questions, Abu Zeit warned that any effort to undermine the sovereign rights of Egypt in the region is considered to be rejected and will be addressed.

Are Eni and Total at the precipice of a giant gas discovery in Cyprus? - ENTERPRISE

Wednesday, 7 February 2018

Are Eni and Total at the precipice of a giant gas discovery in Cyprus? Reports have begun to emerge in the Israeli and Cypriot press this week that Eni and Total are on the brink of a major gas discovery at the Calypso reservoir in Block 6 off the coast in Cyprus. The find is reported to be 6-8.1 tcf, according to Israeli daily Globes. However, Cypriot Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said, “The findings are encouraging, but we need more time for analysis in order to provide final confirmation that there is a gas discovery. Meanwhile, I am unwilling to talk about quantities or any other matter.” The final results of the drilling are expected to be published within a few days. Lakkotrypis added that the geologic structure of the sea bottom at Calypso was similar to that of Egypt’s Zohr discovery. Globes notes that this doesn’t bode well for Israel’s Leviathan field, which remains without any contract to develop it.

Lebanon’s oil and gas sector: A roadmap for 2018 - MESP / EXECUTIVE MAGAZINE

February 6, 2018 / Lebanon

At the end of January, Lebanon signed its first exploration & production agreements (EPA) with a consortium of companies composed of France’s Total (as operator), Italy’s Eni, and Russia’s Novatek. The consortium had placed two separate bids on October 12, 2017, the only ones received in Lebanon’s first offshore licensing round, for Block 4 and Block 9. With the contracts signed, Lebanon can now look forward to the exploration phase. The consortium has committed to drill two wells in 2019, one in each block. But what can Lebanon expect prior to drilling?

EIB approves 1.5 bln euro loan for TAP gas pipeline - REUTERS

FEBRUARY 6, 2018 / 7:39 PM
Alissa de Carbonnel, Editing by Jane Merriman

BRUSSELS, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The European Investment Bank on Tuesday approved a 1.5 billion euro loan for the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), part of a $40 billion project to bring new gas supplies to Europe.

The European Union is trying to reduce its dependence on Russian gas by developing the so-called Southern Gas Corridor which is expected to bring around 16 billion cubic metres of gas per year to Europe by 2020.

The gas would come from the Shah Deniz 2 field in Azerbaijan via several routes, including the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to Greece, Albania and Italy.

TAP is slated to bring up to 10 billion cubic metres of gas to Italy from Shah Deniz 2 - one of the world’s largest gas fields developed by a BP-led consortium.

EIB Vice President Andrew McDowell told Reuters the TAP project would help to offset declining European production, provide a diversified source of gas and displace coal-fired power generation in central and south eastern Europe.

Delek Shares Tumble on Report That Israel-Turkey Gas-export Deal Is in Jeopardy - HAARETZ

TheMarker Feb 06, 2018 1:10 AM

Eran Azran

Shares of Yitzhak Tshuva’s Delek Group tumbled Monday after Bloomberg News reported that plans to develop an undersea pipeline to deliver Israeli natural gas to Turkey looked increasingly troubled amid fraying bilateral relations. Israel has shifted its priorities to exporting to Egypt and Europe, markets with their own political problems or high costs, Bloomberg said, citing two unnamed sources. Turkish pipeline company Botas canceled a December visit to Israel, Bloomberg said. None of the companies involved would comment. 

In another setback for Delek, Moody’s lowered the outlook for the B3-rated debt held by Ithaca, Delek’s wholly owned North Sea energy company, to Negative. Moody’s said it was concerned about the low output rate at Ithaca’s Stella field, the cash flow from which is supposed to help repay the company’s $750 million in debt and reduce its leveraging. Shares of Delek, which owns 45.3% of Israel’s giant Leviathan gas field, finished down 7.45% at 542 shekels ($156.97).

EGAS to issue natural gas exploration tender in 11 blocks before June - ENTERPRISE

Egypt's 2015 Eastern Mediterranean (Onshore & Offshore) Bid Round Results

Tuesday, 6 February 2018

The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) is planning on issuing natural gas exploration tenders in 11 offshore and onshore blocks before June, an unnamed EGAS source tells Al Shorouk. 

EGAS Chairman Osama El Bakly had previously announced the company’s plans to have a bid round for oil and gas exploration in east Mediterranean and onshore Delta blocks in 1H2018, but had not disclosed the number of areas up for exploration.

Fraying Israel-Turkey Ties Threaten Planned Gas Venture - BLOOMBERG

February 5, 2018, 5:49 PM GMT+2Yaacov Benmeleh and David Wainer

• Israeli companies said to shift deal focus to Egypt, Europe
• Erdogan’s public condemnations have angered Israeli officials

A U.S.-backed initiative to build an undersea natural gas pipeline between Israel and Turkey looks increasingly troubled as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan escalates his public denunciations of the Jewish state.

Israel has shifted its priorities to exporting to Egypt and other markets because of the growing discord with Turkey, according to two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue is sensitive. Efforts to reach governmental understandings with Turkey continue but the pace of talks has fallen off sharply, one of them said.

EBRD to loan SOPC USD 200 mn - ENTERPRISE

Monday, 5 February 2018

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is provisioning a USD 200 mn loan to the Suez Oil Processing Company (SOPC) “to finance a package of energy efficiency investments and other refurbishments and installations at the Suez refinery,” according to the EBRD project website. 

The loan is classified as a sovereign loan to Egypt and will be brought before the board for a vote on 28 March. A technical cooperation fund will allocate EUR 83k to environmental and feasibility studies.

2 million Iraqi oil barrels to arrive in Egypt on Feb. 15 - EGYPT TODAY

CAIRO – Mon., 5 February 2018

The first 2 million-barrel crude oil shipment coming from Iraq will arrive in Egypt’s capital of Cairo, on February 15.

The crude oil shipment left Iraqi ports days ago and the ships are on their way to Cairo, according to an Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) source.

In January, Egypt renewed a contract to import 12 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil over the coming year, an official at EGPC stated.

The official, who declined to be named, said that six 2-million barrel cargoes of crude would be supplied over the course of a year, starting this month.

The Iraqi deal was originally agreed last April with the first shipment arriving in May. Egypt has gone from exporting energy to being a net importer as domestic output has failed to keep pace with rising demand.

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.

Major Cypriot offshore gas field discovered - report - GLOBES

4 Feb, 2018 13:45
Sonia Gorodeisky

The Calypso field (TEKMOR Note: IF proven), containing an estimated 170-230 BCM, will make it even more difficult for the Leviathan partners to sign export deals.

The Cypriot media has reported the discovery of a major natural gas field in Cypriot economic waters, 75 kilometers off the island's southern coast. The reservoir reportedly contains 170-230 BMC of gas, 70% as much as the Tamar reservoir in Israel's territorial waters. The reservoir, which is located in bloc 6 and is called Calypso, will be developed by a European consortium composed of Italian company ENI and French company Total SA.

According to the reports, the drilling results confirmed "sufficient and encouraging signs" of a natural gas field. Cypriot Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said, "The findings are encouraging, but we need more time for analysis in order to provide final confirmation that there is a gas discovery. Meanwhile, I am unwilling to talk about quantities or any other matter." The final results of the drilling are expected to be published within a few days. Lakkotrypis added that the geologic structure of the sea bottom at Calypso was similar to that of Egypt's Zohr discovery.

Cyprus: "Calypso" (block 6) could very well be hiding a little Zohr - PHILELEFTHEROS / TEKMOR

3 FEB 2018, 10:46 πμ

Petros Theocharides (translated by TEKMOR associates)

During the initial stages when the drill came in contact with the well there was relative disappointment since gas was found but in sedimentary rocks, which, due to the very low permeability, did not allow hopes for a measurable deposit and did not confirm a Zohr-like target with carbonates in primitives reefs.

However, when the drill reached a few tens of meters below, it showed exactly what the ENI experts were looking for, the Zohr-type deposit, and even beyond the optimistic deviations in the experts' formulas. The drilling took place where the depth of the sea was 1,902 meters and reached a depth of about 1,800 meters below the seabed.

One of its important features is that it extends from block 6 where the main body of the deposit is located and fairly well within block 10 where the ExxonMobil - Qatar Petroleum consortium has rights, as is the case with 11, licensed to the ENI-TOTAL partnership similarly to block6, but it also extends in block 7 which was not awarded during Cyprus' 3rd licensing round. 

The "PHILELEPTHEROS" newspaper's information suggests that the area of ​​the field reaches up to 35% of  Egypt's Zohr, so, although very conservative and moderate for the time being, experts talk about the possibility of a "small Zohr ".

The full article in Greek follows.

Exploratory drill shows "encouraging signs" of natural gas field: Cypriot minister - XINHUA

2018-FEB-03 02:22:19

NICOSIA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Results of an ongoing gas drilling about 75 km off Cyprus' southwest coast are providing "encouraging signs" of a natural gas field, Cypriot Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said on Friday.

"The findings are encouraging. A reserve has been located but the morphology of the particular target is complicated so we need more time," he said.

Eni Discovery Doubles Cyprus Reserves; Is It Enough To Make It A Gas Producer? - MEES

02 Feb, 2018

If rumors of a 6-8tcf discovery on Block 6 are confirmed, Eni will likely look to a tie-in with its Egyptian Zohr field.

Italian firm Eni is set to imminently announce the discovery of a sizeable natural gas deposit offshore Cyprus, MEES understands. But the question is whether the quantities – rumored at 6-8tcf, which would put it ahead of the 2011 Aphrodite discovery – will prove commercially viable.

In favor of the latest discovery, dubbed Calypso after the nymph who enchanted Odysseus, is its operator and location. Whilst almost 180km southwest of Cyprus and in 1,000ms water depth, it is a relatively modest 80km from the same company’s Egyptian 24tcf (TEKMOR Note: 30 tcf) Zohr field, which entered production at the end of 2017 (MEES, 15 December 2017). Eni has regularly touted Zohr as a potential hub for East Med gas development.

Southern Gas Corridor to Start Pumping Natural Gas in Mid-2018 - CASPIAN NEWS

February 2, 2018

Mushvig Mehdiyev

The Southern Gas Corridor mega-pipeline that will deliver Caspian gas to Europe and Turkey, may come online early and be operational by the middle of this year.

On Thursday, BP’s regional president for Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia, Gary Jones, said the development of the second phase of Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz gas field – currently the only supplier for the corridor – and the expansion of the South Caucasus pipeline – one of three segments within it – are almost complete.

EU to provide €35m for Cyprus oil stocks - CYPRUS MAIL

FEBRUARY 2ND, 2018

The European Investment Bank is to give €35 million to the Cyprus Organisation for Storage and Management of Oil Stocks (COSMOS) to build a 210,000 tonne privately owned storage facility.

The project will focus on enhancing energy efficiency and improve Cyprus`s energy security by increasing the amount of reserve oil stocks held in the country.

“The EU’s Energy Union strategy aims to make energy more secure and affordable,” said Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness.

“This first EFSI project in Cyprus with COSMOS will help us meet those goals. I encourage more project promoters in Cyprus to contact the EIB with their investment proposals in order to continue boosting growth and creating jobs,” stated the Commission Vice President.

Energean Signs US$180m RBL Facility with EBRD, BSTDB, EximBank Romania and Intesa Sanpaolo Bank to Develop Prinos Basin - ENERGEAN OIL & GAS

1 February 2018

Loan agreement finances further development of the Prinos, Prinos North and Epsilon oil fields 

Energean Oil & Gas (“Energean” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce that it has signed a reserves-based senior facility agreement (the “Agreement”), amounting to US$180 million, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”), the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (“BSTDB”), the Export-Import Bank of Romania EximBank SA (“ EximBank Romania”) and Banca Comerciala Intesa Sanpaolo Romania S.A (“Intesa Sanpaolo Bank”), HSBC acting as the agent bank. This Agreement is an extension to the existing US$75 million loan signed with the EBRD on 19 May 2016. 

The Agreement now includes two facilities: a senior secured reducing revolving credit facility of up to US$105 million with the EBRD and BSTDB as lenders; and a senior secured revolving credit facility of up to US$75 million arranged by EximBank Romania and having EximBank Romania and Intesa Sanpaolo Bank as lenders. 

Libya Makes Small Appearance in Hess’ Capex - PETROLEUM AFRICA

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Hess Corporation released its 2018 E&P capital and exploratory budget which amounts to $2.1 billion, the same as 2017.While the majority of the company’s capex will be spent outside of Africa, one country will see a small percentage of it over 2018.

According to Hess, part of the production funds will go to its production operations in Libya, where Hess holds an 8.16% stake as a member of the Waha Oil Company. The Waha Oil Company operates 13 producing fields in the Sirte basin. Five large oil fields were discovered between 1958 and 1961 and production started in 1962. Production has been interrupted in recent years due to civil unrest, but resumed once again in 2017.

Egypt with Eni to fast-track Zohr gas output - WORLD OIL

JAN/31/2018
SALMA EL WARDANY

CAIRO (Bloomberg) -- Egypt is working with Eni SpA, operator of the giant Zohr gas field, to fast-track output and end the country’s need to import liquefied natural gas as early as this year, Oil Minister Tarek el-Molla said

Zohr, the largest undersea gas discovery in the Mediterranean, will produce 1.7 Bcfgd before the end of 2018, el-Molla said in a televised ceremony to inaugurate the field. Egypt is talking with Rome-based Eni to increase output to reach the 2019 production target this year instead, he said.

“God willing, by the end of the year when we reach the second phase of production, we can stop importing LNG,” el-Molla said Wednesday.

Israeli Minister Says Lebanese Claim On Gas Field 'Provocative' - REUTERS

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

TEL AVIV, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Israel described as "very provocative" on Wednesday a Lebanese offshore oil and gas exploration tender on the countries' maritime border, and urged international firms not to bid.

"When they issue a tender on a gas field, including Block 9, which by any standard is ours ... this is very, very challenging and provocative conduct here," Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said.

"Respectable firms" bidding on the tender "are, to my mind, making a grave error - because this is contrary to all of the rules and all protocol in cases like this," he told an international security conference hosted by Tel Aviv University's INSS think-tank.

Lebanon in December approved a bid by a consortium of France's Total, Italy's ENI and Russia's Novatek for two of the five blocks put up for tender in the country's much-delayed first oil and gas offshore licensing round.

Turkey’s Syria campaign unlikely to affect regional energy projects - NEW EUROPE

JANUARY 29, 2018, 10:44
Kostis Geropoulos

East Med gas pipeline from Cyprus to Greece and onto Europe bypassing Turkey has the less political risk, leading regional expert says

ATHENS – As Turkey moves forward with ‘Operation Olive Branch’ with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly saying that Ankara is prepared to take its fight against Kurdish forces in northern Syria as far as Iraq, a leading regional analyst told New Europe that the latest military campaign is not likely to have any direct effect on energy projects.

Asked if that military operation would have any effect on long-term projects like the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), Saleh Jallad of the Consolidated Contractors Company and publisher of the Middle East Economic Survey “MEES” said, “No, these are a little bit in a way independent. TAP, for instance, it has to do with influence but indirect ways, not direct with Turkey. So it will continue to go and it’s a good project, in my opinion, because it could supply Europe… and Greece will also benefit from this project”.

Jallad stressed that Turkey also wants to diversify its energy resources because the majority of its imports are from Russia.

Europe's Natural Gas Market Is Heading South - BLOOMBERG

January 30, 2018, 11:56 AM GMT+2
Reed Landberg, Tommaso Ebhardt, Chiara Albanese

• Italy pipeline operator Snam is building more flexible system
• LNG and Caspian-area supplies may make Italy a gas exporter

The center of gravity in Europe’s natural gas market is heading south as one of the continent’s biggest pipeline operators builds a system that could make Italy an exporter of the fuel for the first time.

EGAS to buy five LNG shipments for 2Q2018 through direct order - ENTERPRISE

Tuesday, 30 January 2018

EGAS to buy five LNG shipments for 2Q2018 through direct order: EGAS is planning to import five LNG shipments for 2Q2018, traders tell Reuters Arabic. 

These shipments will not come through a tender as is the norm, but a direct order, the traders added. It is not yet clear whether this will be the final round of shipments to be imported, as Oil Minister Tarek El Molla said that Egypt will cease to import LNG by July.

Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals signs gas, electricity supply contracts with GASCO, ETHYDCO - ENTERPRISE

Tuesday, 30 January 2018

Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals (SIDPEC) signed yesterday a contract with the Egyptian Natural Gas Company (GASCO) to supply propane gas and another contract with the Egyptian Ethylene & Derivatives Company (ETHYDCO) to supply electricity for SIDPEC’s propylene and propylene factory, according to a statement to the EGX.

Energean appoints Stena drillship for development drilling at Israel's Karish field - WORLD OIL

Stena Forth Drillship

JAN/29/2018

ATHENS -- Energean Oil & Gas is pleased to announce that Energean Israel has signed a contract with Stena Drilling for the development drilling of Karish field, offshore Israel.

Pursuant to the contract, Stena Drilling will deploy the Stena Forth drillship (or such substitute as may agreed by the parties) to drill three development wells in first-quarter 2019 (with provision made for further options), subject to Energean’s Final Investment Decision (FID) regarding the Karish and Tanin fields.

The Stena Forth, one of the DrillMAX Fleet vessels, is a DP Class 3 ultra-deepwater drillship with a track record in world-wide operations, ranging from the Mediterranean (Libya), Egypt (Gulf of Suez), Malaysia, Greenland and the U.S. (Gulf of Mexico).

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.

Noble Energy Announces Tamar Sell-Down - NOBLE ENERGY / GLOBE NEWSWIRE

Houston, Jan. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NBL) ("Noble Energy" or "the Company") today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to divest a 7.5 percent working interest in the Tamar field, offshore Israel, to Tamar Petroleum Ltd. (TASE: TMRP) ("Tamar Petroleum") for cash proceeds of approximately $560 million and 38.5 million shares of Tamar Petroleum. Based upon today's closing price of Tamar Petroleum, total consideration of this transaction is approximately $800 million. This follows an initial divestment of 3.5 percent of the Tamar field in mid-2016. Combined proceeds from both transactions total nearly $1.25 billion, including almost $1 billion in cash.

EU to fund planning of pipeline from Leviathan to Europe Leviathan gas field Photo: Noble Energy - GLOBES

29 Jan, 2018 11:06

Amiram Barkat and Sonia Gorodeisky

The EU has allocated €34.5 million to complete planning, so that a decision can be made about the pipeline.

The European Union (EU) will fund the detailed planning for laying a natural gas pipeline from Israel's Leviathan offshore gas reservoir to Europe. On January 25, the European Commission in Brussels published a list of its priority clean energy projects for 2018 that will receive €873 million in aggregate funding.

The project, called EastMed, is for an undersea pipeline from Leviathan through Cypriot waters to Crete and Italy. The EU has allocated €34.5 million to complete planning, so that a final decision can be made about investing in the project in 2019.

Price, not politics, stymying East Med gas - CYPRUS MAIL

January 28, 2018
Charles Ellinas

The greatest problem making exports of East Med gas, especially from Cyprus and Israel, challenging and difficult, is not political risk, but commercial due to the low global gas prices. You experience political risk when you reach the point of selling. If the prospect of selling is not there, where is the risk?

Exploring and discovering the gas has not been stopped due to political risk. But despite strong EU support, neither Cyprus nor Israel are anywhere near selling their gas to Europe. They cannot find buyers.

The key limiting factor is price.

New seismic surveys in Shorouk concession to uncover further reserves - ENTERPRISE

January 28, 2018

New seismic surveys are underway in the Shorouk concession in the Mediterranean Sea, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla said last week, Al Shorouk reports. The surveys are meant to uncover further reserves in the Zohr gas field, which is in the concession.

GANOPE has also completed seismic mapping for 4,200 km in the Red Sea in preparations to issue blocks there for a bid round, Chairman Mahmoud El Shimy said, according to Al Masry Al Youm. The maritime border demarcation agreement with Saudi Arabia allows for tendering blocks in the Red Sea for oil and gas E&P for the first time.

Ministerial committee resolves TAQA Arabia dispute with EGAS - ENTERPRISE

Sunday, 28 January 2018

The Ministerial Committee for Settlement of Investment Disputes announced a settlement has been reached in a dispute between Qalaa Holdings subsidiary TAQA Arabia and EGAS. The dispute arose when EGAS did not fulfil contractual requirements towards TAQA and assigned natural gas distribution rights to separate companies, resulting in losses to TAQA estimated to be EGP 7 bn. The resolution reached between the parties does not entail any direct payments by the Egyptian government, but amends some contractual clauses between EGAS and TAQA. Our friend Moustafa El Bahabety, the Deputy Justice Minister for Arbitration and International Disputes, who is the head of the organization’s technical committee, informed us that the resolution signed off by the Ismail cabinet at its meeting last week.

Egypt to halt imports of LNG by end of FY 2017/18 - minister of petroleum - REUTERS

CAIRO, Jan 27 (Reuters)

Reporting by Momen Abdelkhalek; Writing by Eric Knecht; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt

Egypt plans to stop importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the end of the 2017/18 fiscal year ending in June as it speeds up production at recently discovered gas fields, Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla said on Saturday.

Egypt said previously that it would halt imports by the start of 2019.

Molla said the country will save $250 million per month by no longer importing LNG. 

Cyprus receives €101MM grant for FSRU project - HYDROCARBON PROCESSING

JAN/25/2018

Connecting Europe announced on January 25 that it will support the introduction of natural gas in Cyprus through the CyprusGas2EU project (EU support of €101 MM).

The grant will help end the present energy isolation of the Cyprus, bring diversification to a region dominated by a single source of supply, and help reduce air pollution and emissions by allowing switching from heavy fuel oil to gas for power generation. It will also improve energy security and price competitiveness.

Read the full press release from the European Commission here.

Gulf Publishing Company will host the fifth incarnation of its Eastern Mediterranean Gas Conference (EMGC) in Nicosia, Cyprus,from 21–22 March 2018. The conference provides attendees with the latest and most accurate information on the region’s developing natural gas industry, and the ability to gain entry to regional markets and seek potential new business partners.

EGAS to issue bid round in 1H2018 - ENTERPRISE

Wednesday, 24 January 2018

EGAS is planning on having a bid round for oil and gas exploration in east Mediterranean and onshore Delta blocks in 1H2018, Chairman Osama El Bakly said, according to Al Masry Al Youm. 

EGAS will also move ahead with its seismic mapping of blocks in west Mediterranean before setting them up for a bid round.

CORRECTED-Noble Energy says to expand Israel activity amid natgas success -REUTERS

JANUARY 24, 2018 / 12:58 PMReporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Maayan Lubell and David Evans

(Corrects Noble official’s title)

JERUSALEM, Jan 24 (Reuters) - U.S.’s Noble Energy said on Wednesday it plans to expand in Israel ahead of the 2019 start of production at the large Leviathan natural gas site off Israel’s Mediterranean coast.

Texas-based Noble owns some 40 percent of Leviathan, which has estimated gas reserves of 622 billion cubic meters -- mostly earmarked for exports -- while Israeli conglomerate Delek Group owns another 45 percent through two subsidiaries.

Noble also holds 32.5 percent of the Tamar field, Israel’s primary supply of natural gas, although it must reduce its holding to 25 percent by 2021 under government plans to open the market to competition.

Gazprom gets go-ahead for second TurkStream offshore gas pipeline - OFFSHORE

JAN/23/2018

MOSCOW – The Turkish authorities have awarded Gazprom a construction permit for the second string of the TurkStream gas pipeline’s offshore section through the Black Sea, terminating at the Turkish coast.

TurkStream operations are in progress at three sections: onshore in Russia and Turkey and offshore in the Black Sea.

Allseas has completed laying more than 760 km (472 mi) of the two offshore strings since the program started last May. Construction of the landfall in Russia is nearly completed, while in Turkey, work has started at the construction site of the receiving terminal.

Gazprom now has all required permits from the Turkish government for the offshore area, and this means both strings of the gas system should be in operation on time, before the end of 2019, said the company’s chairman Alexey Miller.

Transport ministry hits back in Limassol port dispute - CYPRUS MAIL

A EDT barge at Limassol port

JAN 22, 2018

Claims by the oil and gas services company EDT operating out of Limassol port that they have incurred damages because of omissions by the transport ministry are completely out of touch with reality, the ministry said on Monday.

In a brief statement following press reports that EDT was suing the government for €150m, the transport ministry said the claims had no legal basis, according to advice from their legal advisors.

On Sunday, left-wing Haravghi newspaper ran an article saying that according to the lawsuit, EDT claimed that since October 2016, the transport ministry and the minister, Marios Demetriades, kept giving assurances that developments regarding the privatisation of the port would “not cause any disturbance to the functioning of the work of our company “.

Operations at Limassol port were privatised at the beginning of last year.

The report also claimed that the ministry, through the Cyprus Ports Authority, handed down ultimatums to the company which effectively ended discussions that could have resolve outstanding issues although it did not specify what they were.

Egypt paid $200 mln in foreign oil company arrears in Jan - finance minister - REUTERS

JANUARY 21, 2018 / 9:09 AM

Reporting by Ehab Farouk; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman

CAIRO, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Egypt’s Finance Minister Amr El Garhy said on Sunday the country had paid $200 million in arrears owed to foreign oil companies in January, and would pay another $550 million in February and March.

Egypt owed foreign oil companies $2.4 billion at the end of June 2017, the petroleum ministry said this week. There was no newer figure.

Cairo has pledged to eliminate arrears by the end of June 2019 and not to accumulate more, part of its drive to draw new foreign investment to an energy sector that is attracting interest following several major gas discoveries. 

First step toward EU funding to aid gas imports - CYPRUS MAIL

January 17 2018

Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis: funding 'a decisive step towards the import of LNG for power generation'

Cyprus has been approved for preliminary EU funding of €101m to construct infrastructure for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for power generation, Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said on Wednesday.

The approval is a response to Cyprus’ application seeking assistance in importing LNG to decrease the island’s reliance on imported oil for producing electricity ahead of the extraction of its own gas.

The approved amount, Lakkotrypis said, is around 40 per cent of the estimated cost.

The proposal, he said, was jointly submitted to key EU funding instrument Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), by the energy and transport ministries.

The amount is pending the approval of the other member states.

The preliminary approval of the €101m, Lakkotrypis said, “is a decisive step towards the import of LNG for power generation”.

EastMed pipeline provides viable route for stranded gas in Mediterranean - OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY / GLOBAL DATA ENERGY

Development NPV10 with Varying Gas Price / Source: Upstream Analytics © GlobalData

17 JANUARY 2018

The proposed Eastern Mediterranean Natural Gas (EastMed) pipeline spans 1,300 kilometers (km) (808 miles (mi)) offshore and 600 km (373 mi) onshore, starts in Israel and has exit points in Cyprus, Crete and Greece.

The pipeline, proposed by IGI Poseidon, a 50:50 joint venture by DEPA and Edison, has a planned capacity of 1.2 to 1.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd). Both companies benefit from additional gas volumes to distribute to end-users.

Greece gets interest for new offshore oil and gas tenders: licensing body - REUTERS

JANUARY 17, 2018 / 1:28 PM / A DAY AGO

ATHENS, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Tenders for offshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation west and south of Greece have attracted “strong interest” from companies exploring in the Mediterranean, the head of Greece’s oil and gas resources management company said on Wednesday.

Egypt’s role indispensible in developing east Med gas hub -Butler - ENTERPRISE /FINANCIAL TIMES / AL SHOROUK

Tuesday, 16 January 2018

Egypt can once again become an energy exporter and “build on its existing role as one of the most important trading hubs in the region, ideally placed to link western and eastern markets,” Nick Butler writes for The Financial Times. “Egypt’s opportunity is that it finds itself at the crossroads of the emerging international trade in natural gas,” Butler writes. The potential collaboration on natural gas export between Egypt, Cyprus, Israel, and even potentially from Lebanon leaves Turkey as the loser regionally after having “destroyed its opportunity to provide an export route for gas from Cyprus by trying to link trade to a settlement of the island’s longstanding territorial division.” Butler insists that Egypt’s role will be vital in any major development, saying “in the Middle East nothing is ever simple and there will many a slip before the new pattern of trade is in place. But if the eastern Mediterranean is to be developed, Egypt’s role as the new regional trading hub looks indispensable.”

Gas supply changes in Turkey - NATURAL GAS WORLD / THE OXFORD INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY STUDIES

Jan 10, 2018 11:59:pmOIES | Gulmira Rzayeva

SUMMARY

The Turkish government is in the process of making significant structural changes in the country’s energy sector in attempts to lessen its dependence on current import and transmission infrastructure capacity which is constrained and cannot meet gas demand in peak periods.

The Turkish government is in the process of making significant structural changes in the country’s energy sector in attempts to lessen its dependence on current import and transmission infrastructure capacity which is constrained and cannot meet gas demand in peak periods. It intends to diversify supply sources and gas import types (both pipeline gas and LNG/FSRU) to ensure imports are available from a wider range of available sources on competitive terms, at the same time storing more gas in the country once downstream infrastructure capacity allows, to export the excess of gas in the future.

 Consequently, BOTAŞ expects its maximum daily gas supply capacity to almost double by 2023, from the current 252 mcm/d (including storage capacity) to 473 mcm/d as new projects come on stream. This will extend Turkey’s ability to import gas from various sources by eliminating technical constraints. By doing so, Turkey intends to ensure supply security during the peak demand seasons and to reduce its dependence on existing suppliers, allowing it room to manoeuvre between them and other new options. 

Turkey is also expanding capacity at its existing LNG receiving terminals and building new FSRUs, taking advantage of the fact that this method of importing natural gas is available in a flexible and near immediate manner. This will give BOTAŞ and private companies an advantage in meeting the growing demand in winter time, instead of having to increase annual pipeline contract quantities (ACQ) due to the application of “take or pay” clauses.