SCPX project: construction complete at majority of facilities in Georgia - TREND NEWS AGENCY

30 December 2017 10:04 (UTC+04:00)

Construction work has been completed at majority of facilities as part of the South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion (SCPX) project in Georgia, Trend learned from Georgia’s Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development.

"SCPX compressor stations’ construction is progressing. The first compressor station (CSG1), as well as pressure reduction station at Georgian-Turkish border (Area 81), the 62-kilometer SCPX pipeline extension, including connection with TANAP at the Turkish border is completed," said the source in the ministry.

The construction of the second compressor station (CSG2) is 90 percent complete, added the source.

"The expansion of South Caucasus pipeline is one of the most important developments in terms of energy security of Georgia and larger region, said the source.

Turkey’s first drilling ship passes Gallipoli - ANADOLU AGENCY

Deepsea Metro II reaches Sea of Marmara on way to Black Sea

29.12.2017
Burak Akay, CANAKKALE, Turkey

Turkey’s first drilling ship, the Deepsea Metro II, passed the straits of Gallipoli on Friday, the Turkish Petroleum Company said.

The state-run firm said it was to be used for drilling in the Black Sea.

Petrogress, Inc. (PGAS) is Strengthening Port Operations in Cyprus - NETWORK NEWS WIRE

December 28, 2017

• MOU to undertake joint venture in Cyprus port operations
• Set to enter upstream business by operating oil platform
• Gaining eligibility to bid for Ghanaian government contracts

A recent announcement, which also appeared in the Greek media, shows that Petrogress, Inc. (OTC: PGAS) is doubling down in Cyprus. Through subsidiary Petrogress Int’l, LLC (“PIL”), the company has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with EDT Agency Services, Ltd., under which the two companies intend to combine operations at the Port of Limassol. The collaboration also extends to future developments at Vassiliko Energy Port, where the Cyprus Port Authority has announced plans for the construction of a $300 million industrial and energy harbor. 

The MOU calls for a 50/50 partnership between EDT and PIL, operating under PIL’s PG Cypyard & Offshore Terminal Services unit. The joint venture will provide support services to supply vessels and offshore exploration and production platforms and will help PGAS serve the E&P needs of major international oil companies in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The partnership is expected to not only boost PGAS’s revenues, but the company’s profile in Limassol and Vassiliko.

Turkey raises energy stakes as drillship sails through Aegean - KATHIMERINI

28.12.2017 : 21:24

VASSILIS NEDOS

The passage of a Turkish drillship through the Aegean on Thursday was seen as a loud message to Athens that Ankara plans to play a part in energy exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean and the wider region.

Although the Deep Sea Metro 2 and the Turkish corvette Bafra escorting it were traveling in international waters, their journey from an area southeast of the Peloponnese through the Aegean heading for Istanbul was viewed in Greece as a display of Ankara’s determination not to be left out of the region’s unfolding energy map, at a time when Athens has already begun initiatives to partially extend its sea zones.

Thursday’s route taken by the Deep Sea Metro 2 – charted by Turkey for exploratory offshore drilling in the Mediterranean Sea in 2018 – and the Bafra was known to Greece in advance, and for this reason both the Hellenic Armed Forces General Staff (GEETHA) and the navy were put on alert.

Government approves 4 oil, gas agreements worth $230M - EGYPT TODAY

Thu, Dec. 28, 2017

CAIRO – "The Egyptian government approved in its Thursday meeting four new oil and gas exploration agreements worth $230 million," Minister of Petroleum Tarek el-Molla announced.

Two of the four agreements are related to the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) for exploration in the Red Sea and Western Desert areas, while the other two are related to South Valley Petroleum Holding Company (Ganope).

"The agreements include drilling 17 new wells," Molla added in a cabinet press conference.

EGPC chairman Abed Ezz el-Regal announced in September that EGPC will hold a new auction for oil and gas exploration before the end of 2017.

In August, Molla signed three new oil and gas exploration agreements in the Western Desert with a total value of $81.4 million in investments.

The agreements were signed between the EGPC, Royal Dutch Shell and Apex to drill 16 new wells using $23.2 million.

With new gas deals, Egypt closes in on energy hub goal - NASDAQ / REUTERS

December 28, 2017, 06:13:00 AM EDT
Patrick Werr

CAIRO, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Egypt is set to inaugurate a new wharf for natural gas and petroleum product tankers on the Gulf of Suez in the coming days, another step in its plan to become a regional energy hub.

The new 2.5 km wharf is being built by SUMED, which for decades has operated two pipelines from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.

The country has been building fueling depots for ships along the Suez Canal and expanding its refining capacity. It has an extensive pipeline network and two idle gas liquefaction plants ready to export new gas as it arrives.

EBRD lends Egypt USD 200 mn to improve natural gas infrastructure - ENTERPRISE

Thursday, 28 December 2017

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending Egypt USD 200 mn to “finance the modernization of selected gas infrastructure facilities.” The EBRD loan “will be extended to the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and its subsidiary Egyptian Natural Gas Company (GASCO) to fund the introduction of state-of-the-art technologies to recover waste heat from gas turbines used to drive gas compressors. The recovered heat will be used to produce additional energy, which will drive new electric compressors and replace fuels on-site. The introduction of new technology will lead to a reduction of over 250,000 tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per year.” Oil Minister Tarek El Molla says “the EBRD will also provide technical assistance in addition to the USD 200 mn loan, which will contribute to the upgrading of gas metering systems throughout the Egyptian gas transmission network, a key step towards an efficient and cost conscious use of energy.”

DES.FA executive: LNG bunkering in Greece by 2020 - NAFTEMPORIKI

Wednesday, 27 December 2017 19:12
A. Tsimplakis

Supplying merchant vessels with LNG for their fuel needs - bunkering - is a pending priority for DES.FA, Greece’s natural gas transmission system operator.

According to the natgas utility’s director of corporate development, Iosif Florentin, who spoke recently at a roundtable discussion organized by the Hellenic Institute of Maritime Technology (ELINT), the first facility for supplying LNG as a fuel aboard vessels will be based at the current LNG terminal on the islet of Revythoussa, which lies just off the port of Piraeus and the adjacent industrial districts.

He said the facility can currently supply vessels that are larger than 20,000m3.

“By the end of 2018 an international tender will be declared for the construction of a new jetty II, which will exclusively serve vessels between 1,000 and 20,000m3, along with the addition of a smaller appendage and bollards to allow the supply of LNG to even smaller craft from the current jetty,” he said.

Drilling ship arrives off Cyprus for ENI - KATHIMERINI

27.12.2017 13:28

Drilling ship Saipem 12000 entered the Cypriot exclusive economic zone on Tuesday evening to start operating in the next few days for Italy’s ENI.

The vessel will anchor at the “Kalypso” field of the zone’s Block 6, to begin exploratory drilling for hydrocarbons in the next few days.

The drilling process is expected to last for about a month, followed by another drilling for ENI at the “Soupia” (i.e. Cuttlefish) field of Block 3.

ENI chief executive officer Claudio Descalzi stated last month that his company is very optimistic about the area’s natural gas prospects, which is why it has invested 150 million euros in it.

Libya's oil output revival thwarted by pipeline explosion - WORLD OIL / BLOOMBERG

DEC/26/2017

SALMA EL WARDANY

CAIRO (Bloomberg) -- Libya’s oil industry revival suffered a setback Tuesday after an explosion at a pipeline carrying crude to the OPEC nation’s biggest export terminal. Oil rallied as a result.

Production will drop by 70,000 to 100,000 bopd after the explosion, the state-run National Oil Corp. said in a statement. The pipeline, operated by Waha Oil Company, carries crude to the Es Sider terminal. The blast occurred 81 mi south of Sidra.

A New Era For Oil And Gas Majors - OIL PRICE

Dec 26, 2017, 6:00 PM CST
Irina Slav

Two and a half years ago, analysts asked when Italy’s Eni would be able to start producing gas from the giant Zohr field offshore Egypt. The overwhelming majority said this would happen no earlier than 2019, and most likely after 2021. But first gas from Zohr flowed earlier this month, in the latest sign that the future of the oil and gas industry will be very different from its past.

Big Oil has traditionally taken its time with new projects, especially offshore ones. They require a lot of exploration, a lot of planning, and a lot of equipment once the final investment decision has been made. But no longer: the 2014 crisis really changed the setting, forcing the mammoths of the industry to at least try to become more nimble and flexible.

Pipeline Puzzle: Who Will Consume Israel’s Natural Gas? - THE ALGEMEINER

DECEMBER 26, 2017 12:04 PM
Alex Traiman /JNS.org

By 2019, Israel’s large Leviathan natural gas field is expected to transform a once resource-poor developing economy into a major energy exporter. Yet for a politically-isolated Jewish state — in a region of oil-rich Arab nations that have often sought Israel’s destruction — finding viable consumers of Israeli natural gas is proving both difficult and expensive.

Future direction of Israel and East Med energy - CYPRUS MAIL

December 24, 2017

Charles Ellinas

Israel’s energy and its direction was the subject of a recent two-day conference in Tel Aviv. It examined the international, regional and Israeli energy markets, development of oil&gas resources, regional gas exports and cooperation, business opportunities, investment and finance and price impact.

The keynote speech was given by Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s energy minister, who made a commitment that coal-fired power generation will be phased-out by 2030, creating more opportunities for natural gas and renewables. This, he said, will lead to natural gas taking an 80 per cent share of the electricity generation market by 2030. He was confident that these developments will succeed and will transform Israel’s energy sector over the next twelve years.

Amit Mor, CEO of ECO Energy and the organiser of the conference, opened the proceedings with a review of global trends and their impact on energy sources and prices, the Israeli and international energy market, and expanded on the question: where is the Israeli energy sector going? He concluded that natural gas and renewables will enhance Israel’s energy and environmental security.