Petrogress Enters Joint Venture with EDT Offshore
Petrogress, Inc. has announced that its Petrogress Int’l, LLC (PIL) subsidiary has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with EDT Agency Services, Ltd. (EDT Offshore) to combine the companies’ operations at the Port of Limassol and additional port facilities in Cyprus.
The MoU covers shorebase and offshore support services from the Port of Limassol, as well as future developments at Vassiliko Energy Port, where the Cyprus Port Authority has announced plans for a $300 million industrial and energy harbor. The joint operations will be conducted under PIL’s PG Cypyard & Offshore Terminal Services Ltd. (PGC).
EDT Offshore provides services to oil and gas exploration and production companies worldwide, and operates its fleet of specialized support vessels from facilities in Cyprus and Egypt. In 2013, EDT Offshore established facilities at Limassol to support Houston, Texas-based Noble Energy, Inc.’s Aphrodite and Leviathan Field operations in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone. EDT Offshore’s Limassol operations include a mud plant, heliport services and shorebase support for vessels conducting survey, diving, salvage and ROV operations in the Cyprus EEZ and Eastern Mediterranean.
Earlier this year, Noble Energy announced initial Leviathan Field production targets for late 2017, and revised estimates of recoverable natural gas resources to 22 trillion cubic feet, noting that its efforts will provide energy security for Israel and elsewhere, and speed up the conversion of coal-fired power plants across Europe. EDT Offshore and PIL expects to support development activities by Noble Energy and others from Limassol and Vassiliko through at least 2040.
The MOU anticipates a 50/50 partnership of EDT Offshore and PIL in PGC, and combining the companies’ quay, dry dock, lift and workshop facilities at Limassol to provide support services for supply vessels and offshore exploration and production platforms. The parties will focus on serving the service needs of much larger customers from these facilities, and expect that the combination will demonstrate the parties’ operational capabilities as the Cyprus Port Authority selects key service providers for the Vassiliko Energy Port build-out. Vassiliko is the first gas and oil storage and transfer terminal of its kind in the Eastern Mediterranean, and is strategically positioned on Cyprus’ southeastern coast, connecting Europe and the Black Sea with the Middle East and Asia. Current construction will expand oil and gas storage by 50 percent, to over 5.3 million barrels of oil, and PGC will seek lead service provider status at the new port.
