LNG

May 11 (LNGJ) - NewMed Energy, the Israeli natural gas company and LNG project developer in the East Mediterranean and currently considering a 50 percent stake sale to UK major BP and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, said BP and ADNOC were now carrying out a due diligence review of NewMed and its assets.

   With respect to the expansion plan for the Leviathan gas field offshore Israel, NewMed said there were continuing pre-engineering work and discussions taking place. “There are also various technical, commercial and economic processes for promotion of the Leviathan expansion and the FLNG project, which will supply LNG from Leviathan to the international markets,” NewMed explained.

UK major BP and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company have made a joint offer to take control of NewMed Energy, the Israeli natural gas company with LNG export plans and a supplier of pipeline gas to Israel, Egypt and Jordan.

The Greek Government agency, Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company (HEREMA), said seismic surveys had been successfully completed in the offshore areas to the West and Southwest of the Mediterranean island of Crete in the prolific East Med Basin where pipeline gas and LNG feed-gas projects are being developed.

HEREMA said the surveys were carried out by the leading global seismic acquisition and processing company, Petroleum Geo-Services PGS, headquartered in Norway.

Analysts said that this was the most intensive search launched by the Greeks in their Exclusive Economic Zone for natural gas discoveries such as those made by other nations in the region like Egypt and Israel. Lebanon has also launched an exploration campaign and Cyprus already has the Aphrodite gas field in its waters.

The Greek surveys were carried out on behalf of the exploration and production licence holders for the area West and South of Crete, US major ExxonMobil Corp. and Helleniq Energy, a leading refining, supply and trading company in Southeast Europe.

“From their initiation on November 10th 2022, up until their completion, subsurface imaging geophysical surveys for the exploration of potential natural gas deposits were conducted at an intensive pace, far exceeding the minimum contractual obligations,” said HEREMA.

Huge area covered

“A total of 12,278 kilometres of seismic data were collected against the minimum contractual obligation of 6,500km for the two blocks combined,” the state agency added.

“The surveys increased the density of the seismic coverage in the areas within the West and Southwest of Crete concessions, offering for the first time seismic imaging and information over unexplored areas within the Greek EEZ,” declared HEREMA.

Participants emphasized that the surveys lasted a little over three months and adhered to the strictest standards and safety measures for the protection of the environment and marine life.

“As the competent authority that manages the concession rights on behalf of the Greek State, we are deeply satisfied with our excellent cooperation with our investors, who increased their investments and completed the exploration program at a rapid pace,” said HEREMA’s Chief Executive Aristofanis Stefatos.

“This will be followed by data processing, interpretation, and evaluation in order to make decisions about entering the next exploration phase,” added Stefatos.

HEREMA’s Chairman Rikard Scoufias welcomed the completion of the surveys that covered large areas of East Med waters in the Greek economic zone for the first time.

“This is a Greek achievement of global magnitude and comes at a very important moment for Europe,” said Scoufias.

Hopeful

“We have an unprecedented opportunity to monetize Greece’s natural gas resources in a way that can not only bring economic and strategic benefits but also support the bigger objective to accelerate the transition,” added Scoufias.

“Our focus will now be on further building the resources and collaborations, at all levels, to ensure we maintain this historic momentum,” stated the HEREMA Chairman.

In less than two years Greece has now conducted seismic surveys in five areas as opposed to just two areas from 2011 to 2020.

“We need to discover if a new potential source of wealth exists in the subsurface of our country that can be monetized for the benefit of Greek society,” commented Greece’s Minister of Environment and Energy, Kostas Skrekas on the HEREMA-led survey campaign.

Dec 21 (LNGJ) - Italian energy company Eni has made a new natural gas discovery offshore Cyprus in the growing gas hub of the East Mediterranean. The find was in the Zeus-1 well drilled in Block 6 and lcoated 162 kilometres (101 miles) off the Cypriot coastline in water depths of 2,300 metres. The block is held on a 50-50 basis between Eni and France’s TotalEnergies.

   “Zeus-1 is the third consecutive discovery in Block 6. It follows Cronos-1 and Calypso-1 and confirms the promising outlook for the area,” said Eni. The gas in place associated to this reservoir is preliminarily estimated at between 2 trillion cubic feet and 3 Tcf.

Nov 15 (LNGJ) - TotalEnergies said that as a result of the maritime boundary agreement between Israel and Lebanon, the French major would start exploration activities with Italian partner Eni of an already identified prospect in Block 9 of the new pipeline gas and LNG area of the East Mediterranean. The Block 9 partners said they would initiate the exploration which might extend Block 9 into Israeli waters, south of the recently established Maritime Border Line. 

   The companies said preparations for exploration activities will start with the purchase of required equipment and the procurement of a drilling rig. “TotalEnergies, as the operator of Block 9, is proud to be associated with the peaceful definition of a maritime border between Israel and Lebanon,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and Chief Executive of TotalEnergies. “We will respond to the request of both countries to assess the materiality of hydrocarbon resources and production potential in this area,” explained Pouyanné.

Oct 27 (LNGJ) - Israel and Lebanon were scheduled to sign a US-sponsored agreement on October 27 on maritime borders in the new natural gas basin of the Eastern Mediterranean. A statement said that the accord gives the Israelis rights to the Karish gas field that has just started production, while Lebanon will retain full rights in the nearby Qana field. The Qana field is expected to be operated for the authorities in Lebanon by French major TotalEnergies.

   The London Stock Exchange-listed Energean Plc, the operator of the Karish field offshore Israel, confirmed that first gas had been safely delivered on October 26. Energean said its floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) platform and the sales gas pipeline had capacity of 8 billion cubic metres per annum. “We have delivered a landmark project that brings competition to the Israeli gas market, enhances security of energy supply in the East Med region and brings affordable and clean energy that will displace coal-fired power generation,” explained Mathios Rigas, Chief Executive of Energean.

US LNG engineering company Bechtel was awarded a front-end engineering and design contract to study a proposed unified system between the onshore gas processing plant of the West Delta Deep Marine gas fields in the Mediterranean offshore Egypt and the LNG export plant located at Idku east of the Egyptian port of Alexandria.

Leading oil and gas and LNG executives as well as heads of European Union utilities had interesting observations to make on the first day of the four-day Gastech Conference and Exhibition held in the northern Italian city of Milan.

Italian LNG terminal and gas grid operator Snam has acquired a stake in the Egypt-Israel natural gas pipeline from Arish to Ashkelon and the transaction marks the entrance of Snam into the Eastern Mediterranean market where gas demand growth is forecast.

Israeli energy company Delek Drilling has signed the final agreement for the US$1.1-billion sale of its 22 percent stake in Israel’s second-biggest natural gas resource, the Tamar field, to Mubadala Petroleum of the United Arab Emirates.