Egypt's Zohr gas field to yield 500 mln cubic feet daily by end-2017 - REUTERS AFRICA

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017 / 4:32 PM
Reuters Staff

CAIRO, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Egypt’s giant new offshore Zohr gas field in the Mediterranean is set to be producing 500 million cubic feet per day by the end of 2017, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said on Saturday.

The country imports peak at 10-12 shipments of natural gas per month, Ismail told reporters at the General Authority For Investment, adding that imports should decline significantly once the field starts producing.

Discovered in 2015 by Italy’s Eni with an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, the Zohr field is due to start producing in December.

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

Friday 22 Sep 2017

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

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

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

OPEC’s ‘Problem Children’ Are Holding Down Oil Prices - THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Monthly crude-oil production, percentage above or below October 2016 levels

Sept. 22, 2017 12:33 p.m. ET

Benoit Faucon and Summer Said

Rising output in strife-torn Libya and Nigeria is threatening the cartel’s bid to cut off oil supplies and balance the market
VIENNA—The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is scrambling to contain output from its strife-torn members Libya and Nigeria, where surging production could threaten to derail the oil cartel’s efforts to withhold crude supply and raise its price.

Libya and Nigeria were exempt from OPEC’s agreement last year to join with Russia and other producers to cut about 2% of the world’s oil production. The countries’ oil industries at the time were crippled by civil unrest and weren’t expected to recover soon.

Both have since struck deals with militants, allowing the spigots to be turned on again.

Malfunction halts Israel's natural gas production - JERUSALEM POST

SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 21:13
YUVAL BAGNO/MAARIV, JPOST.COM STAFF 

Natural gas production grinds to a stop after a crack was detected in oil platform pipe on Thursday. Over half of Israel's power will be generated using coal for the next few days.

A malfunction in the Tamar gas field off the coast of Israel Thursday morning halted the production of natural gas.

In response, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz activated section eight of the state's emergency protocol.

EGPC pays $6.2 billion in arrears to foreign oil firms - EGYPT TODAY

Thu, Sep. 21, 2017

CAIRO – 21 September 2017: The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) paid $6.2 billion to foreign companies in arrears during the fiscal year (FY) 2016/2017, which in turn prompted companies to accelerate their activities in the oil and gas fields, EGPC Chairman Abed Ezz el-Regal said Thursday.

He added that EGPC paid a total amount of $19.3 billion and LE 38 billion (in local currency) to the companies, during the same period, to buy oil and repay loans.

Contract signature with BAPETCO, a Shell JV in Egypt - VALLOUREC

21/09/2017

Vallourec has signed a contract with Badr El Din Petroleum Company (BAPETCO), a joint venture between Shell and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation.

Boulogne-Billancourt, 21 September 2017 - Vallourec has signed a contract with Badr El Din Petroleum Company (BAPETCO), a joint venture between Shell and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation. This agreement concerns the supply of tubular solutions (OCTG) for 60 to 70 gas wells of an onshore project in the Western Desert of Egypt.

‘ExxonMobil plans to invest €5bn for Crete exploration’ - ENERGY PRESS

21/09/2017

Global oil industry giant ExxonMobil has committed itself to investing 5 billion euros for hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation in the Greek market, Economy and Development Minister Dimitris Papadimitriou told investors at the 12th annual London roadshow of Athens-listed firms, as part of the government’s wider effort to present Greece as a market now beginning to attact major investments.

The minister made reference to a series of foreign investment plans for the Greek market, including that of ExxonMobil.

Sources have confirmed the ExxonMobil intention to set aside 5 billion euros for investments in the Greek market, developments permitting.

Gasser Hanter: Shell positioning itself as Egypt’s preferred future partner - ENERGY EGYPT / DAILY NEWS EGYPT

Gasser Hanter – VP Upstream, Country Chair & Managing Director Shell Egypt

September 19, 2017

The Apollonia project can boost Egypt’s unconventional oil/gas exploration and production.
In the wake of the ongoing economic reform programme adopted by the authorities and the plans to transform Egypt into a major energy hub, Daily News Egypt sat with Gasser Hanter, Vice President Upstream, Country Chair & Managing Director of Shell Egypt, which is responsible for around 20% of Egypt’s gas production and 10% of the country’s oil production to discuss the prospects of Egypt’s oil and gas sector, in addition to reviewing the company’s latest projects and updates in the Egyptian market.

ENI preparing to drill in ‘murky’ plot 6 - IN CYPRUS

September 19, 2017

There is a change of guard when it comes drilling within Cyprus’s EEZ.

The Italian giant ENI’s drill ship Saipem 12000 is scheduled to start a series of exploratory drills at the beginning of 2018 replacing Total’s West Capella, which has already left Cyprus after a disappointing gas find in Onisiphoros well in plot 11.

According to daily “Phileleftheros”, Saipem 12000 has already departed from Angola where it was operating and is heading to Tenerife for essential maintenance before arriving in Cyprus waters at the end of the year or the beginning of the next.

Lebanon passes oil tax law ahead of first energy-rights auction - WORLD OIL

19/9/2017 
DANA KHRAICHE & FATMA ABUSIEF

BEIRUT (Bloomberg) -- Lebanon’s parliament approved a law to tax revenue from oil operations, weeks before its first sale of offshore energy exploration rights to interested companies like Total SA and ExxonMobil Corp.

IOCs raise investments in Egypt to USD 10 bn this year – El Molla - ENTERPRISE

Sunday, 17 September 2017

International oil companies have raised their investments in Egypt to USD 10 bn this year on the back of payments the government have been making to arrears it owes them, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla tells Al Borsa on Saturday. 

Arrears had fallen to USD 2.3 bn, the lowest it has been since 2013, El Molla stated. The ministry plans to issue new tenders and auctions for concessions, he added.

BP says production from Zohr set to begin before year end - ENTERPRISE

Sunday, 17 September 2017

BP says it is on track to begin production from Zohr before the end of the year, according to comments made by BP CEO Bob Dudley to Reuters. 

BP completed the acquisition of 10% of Eni’s stake in the Zohr gas field in February, and Rosneft also owns a stake in the field.

Poor gas drilling results not all doom and gloom - CYPRUS MAIL

IOCs with interests (September 2017) in Cyprus' declared EEZ

September 17, 2017
Elias Hazou

News this week of the outcome at the Onisiphoros well generated all sorts of reaction, but for experts the main takeaway is that the gas find – albeit a small one – holds great promise for the future because it has scientifically confirmed the existence of a carbonate platform around the Eratosthenes Seamount south of the island.