Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Eastern Mediterranean News

UK's Energean terminates Carlyle deal

Energean, a UK-based gas company, announced on Friday that it had terminated its agreement with Carlyle to sell some of its assets because regulatory approvals were still pending in Italy and Egypt. In June 2024, the two companies struck a $945 million deal that would allow Carlyle to establish a new Mediterranean-focused oil and gas company, led by former BP CEO Tony Hayward, by utilizing Energean's assets in Egypt, Italy, and Croatia. "While I'm disappointed that Carlyle wasn't able to obtain the necessary approvals for Egypt and Italy…

Energean reports a rise in its annual profit and flags exploration costs

Energean, a UK-based gas company, reported a 2% increase in its annual profit after taxes on Thursday. However, it also flagged $241 million in impairments relating to assets located in Egypt, Morrocco, and Greece. The company reported a profit of $188 millions for the year ending December 31, 2024. This is up from $185 in 2023. The company stated that the increasing demand for electricity and the government's plan to phase out coal in Israel have increased the demand for natural gas in Israel, which is the majority of the country's production.

Egypt talks to Excelerate Energy about floating gas unit, says ministry

The Egyptian petroleum ministry announced on Thursday that it is in discussions with Excelerate Energy about a floating storage unit and regasification (FSRU). This will help to ensure a steady supply of natural gas for the Egyptian market. According to a statement, Steven Kobos CEO of Excelerate Energy expressed his company's willingness to supply the FSRUs necessary to Egypt. According to its website, Excelerate offers downstream LNG infrastructure as well as a fleet consisting of 11 FRSUs.

Egypt leases German gas liquefaction units to boost production

The Egyptian Petroleum Ministry announced in a Tuesday statement that Egypt plans to lease an German floating gas-liquefaction unit. Egypt, the largest Arab country by population, is seeking to increase production of its offshore giant Zohr gas field in order to meet the rising demand for domestic gas during the summer heat. Eni, the operator of Zohr, resumed drilling in late October after the output in the largest Mediterranean gas field dropped to 1.9 billion cubic foot per day by early 2024. This is well below the maximum reached in 2019.

Egypt, Cyprus sign gas export deals, boosting Eastern Mediterranean energy cooperation

Egypt and Cyprus signed an agreement on Monday that allows the export of natural gas from Cyprus offshore fields to Egypt, for liquefaction, and then re-export into Europe. Both countries are seeking to strengthen the role of the Eastern Mediterranean as an energy hub. The 2025 Egypt Energy Show deals formalise the long-anticipated plan of linking Cypriot reserves with Egypt's LNG facilities. This move leverages Egypt’s existing infrastructure for processing and shipping natural gas to European market.

Cyprus and Chevron led group agree on updated offshore field plan

Cyprus and the Chevron-led group have reached an agreement on a new development plan for an offshore gas field near Cyprus. The two parties released a joint press release on Friday. Chevron tried to change a field development plan for 2019 and this led to protracted discussions on the future of the Aphrodite field, south-east from Cyprus. This plan was agreed upon between Cyprus and Noble, a former license holder and independent energy operator Chevron purchased in 2020.

Egypt and Eni announce that drilling ships will begin work on the Zohr gas fields

Egypt's Petroleum Ministry said that a drilling ship would arrive in Egypt next month, as Eni begins work to increase production at the massive Zohr offshore field. Egypt planned to become one of the world's major gas exporters after Eni found the field in 2015. However, domestic gas production has fallen in Africa since 2021 and reached a six-year minimum in 2024. In the first half 2024, the average production at Zohr fell to 1.9 billion cubic foot per day (bcf/d), well below the 2019 peak.

Energean CEO urges Israel issue new oil and Gas Exploration Licences

Energean, a gas company based in Israel, urged Israel on Thursday to issue new oil and gas exploration licenses offshore to meet the growing demand for gas in the region. Mathios rigas also called upon governments to develop new routes of export from Israel to Egypt and Cyprus. "We need to talk to the government (Israeli) about new licenses and exploration because we have to find more natural gas." Rigas stated that we need to develop additional gas.

Egypt's President and Eni CEO discuss gas production

Eni, an Italian energy company, said that Egypt's President met with its CEO on Monday in order to discuss measures aimed at boosting gas production. The meeting came after Egypt was forced to use the LNG market to meet domestic demand. Egypt had planned to be a major exporter of gas after Eni found the huge Zohr offshore gas field in 2015. However, domestic gas production has fallen since 2021 and reached a six-year minimum this year. In the first half of 2018…

Chevron sells assets worth $6.5 billion to Canadian Natural Resources

Chevron announced on Monday that it would sell its assets in the Athabasca Oilsands and Duvernay Shale fields to Canadian Natural Resources at a price of $6.5 billion. This is part of its divestment plan. The cash-only transaction is part of the company's strategy to sell assets worth $10 to $15 billion by 2028. Chevron will be able to produce 84,000 barrels equivalent per day (boepd), based on the assets located in Alberta Canada. Wood Mackenzie reported in January that the Duvernay was one of Canada's most important shale plays…

Chevron CEO Sees Continued 'Choppy Economic and Price Activity'

Mike Wirth (Photo: Chevron)

The chief executive of U.S. oil giant Chevron Corp on Monday said the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic has it planning for "choppy" oil prices and economic activity globally.Chevron said on Monday it would buy oil and gas producer Noble Energy Inc for about $5 billion in stock, the first big energy deal since the coronavirus crisis started."The crystal ball is cloudy right now," Mike Wirth said in an interview. "There’s so much uncertainty on the trajectory of the pandemic…

Gas Output to Resume at Israel's Leviathan After Brief Halt

File photo: Noble Energy

Production at Israel's offshore Leviathan natural gas field will resume in the coming hours after an emergency shutdown on Saturday, the project's operator Noble Energy said [on Saturday].The platform's flare system had been activated to burn off excess gas, generating a flame visible from shore, in what Israel's Energy Ministry called an "emergency closure."Noble initially referred to it as an "operational event" but updated later it had been a…

Energean, DEPA Pact for EastMed Pipeline

UK-based international oil and gas exploration and production company Energean Oil & Gas and the Public Gas Corporation of Greece (DEPA) have agreed to cooperate to further support the EastMed Pipeline Project.The have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for the potential sale and purchase of 2 BCM natural gas per annum from Energean’s gas fields offshore Israel, where Energean is investing $1.7 billion for the development of the Karish & Tanin fields through the FPSO “Energean Power”.DEPA…

Offshore: OSV Market Report

Photo courtesy Ulstein Group/Marius Beck Dahle

The environment in oil patches onshore and offshore alike has been challenging throughout 2019; worries about an economic slowdown – whether cyclical or induced by a trade war – have weighed heavily on oil prices, even in the face of reduced production by the big producers. Though storm clouds persist, there appears a clearing on the horizon.The fate of Offshore Service Vessels (OSVs) is, naturally, closely tied to the price of oil. Seacor Marine’s John Gellert, in reviewing its Q2 results, said: “Activity levels in the U.S.

Energean Seeks to Pipe Karish Gas to Cyprus

Stena's DrillMAX drilling Karish North, offshore Israel (Photo: Energean)

Energean Oil & Gas said on Tuesday its Energean International unit submitted an application to import and supply natural gas to Cyprus starting in 2021.In its application to Cypriot authorities, it said it sought to supply gas through a pipeline from the Karish block offshore Israel to Vassiliko, Cyprus.The pipeline would be 215 kilometers long and transport natural gas from the Karish North field, which contains 25 billion cubic meters of discovered recoverable resources.Total investment…

Total Launches New Supercomputer

(Photo: Total)

Energy major Total said its new supercomputer - which has propelled it to a world ranking as the most powerful computer in the sector - will enable its geologists to find oil faster, cheaper and with a better success rate.The Pangea III computer build by IBM will help process complex seismic data in the search for hydrocarbons 10 times faster that before, Total said on Tuesday.The computing power of the company has been increased to 31.7 so-called 'petaflops' from 6.7 petaflops in 2016…

Greek PM May Seek Sanctions Against Turkey in Gas Row

© twixx / Adobe Stock

Greece and Cyprus will push their EU partners to penalize Turkey, including the possible option of sanctions, if Ankara is verified to have started drilling for gas west of Cyprus, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Sunday.The discovery of lucrative energy reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has drawn into sharper focus long-standing tensions between Turkey and the Greek Cypriot government.A Turkish drill ship has been anchored west of Cyprus since May.

Lebanon Announces Offshore Blocks

© bilalulker / Adobe Stock

Lebanon announced on Friday five offshore blocks to be included in its coming bidding round for energy exploration and production licences, including four along disputed maritime borders.Offshore energy development has been a central ambition for successive governments in cash-strapped Lebanon, but political paralysis has caused years of delays.Blocks 8 and 10 both include waters also claimed by Israel, while blocks 1 and 2 include waters claimed by Syria.

Turkey Set to Begin Drilling off Cyprus

(Photo: Turkish Petroleum International Company)

Turkey will begin drilling for oil and gas near Cyprus in coming days, state-owned news agency Anadolu reported Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu saying on Thursday, a move that could stoke tensions with neighboring Cyprus and Greece.Turkey and the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government have overlapping claims of jurisdiction for offshore oil and gas research in the eastern Mediterranean, a region thought to be rich in natural gas."In the coming days we will start drilling with two ships around Cyprus…

Petrobras to Bid in Israeli Gas Tender

Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz (Photo: Wikimedia)

Israel's energy minister said on Sunday that Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras will take part in a tender to explore for oil and gas off Israel's shore, Reuters reports."It was agreed that Petrobras ... will take part in a process of oil and gas exploration in Israel," Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told Army Radio as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro began a visit to Israel.A previous auction elicited bids from only two groups of companies…

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