LNG

NewMed Energy, the Israeli company with stakes in the East Mediterranean gas fields, has received approval in principle to export more volumes from the prolific Leviathan field offshore Israel.

The Israeli Energy Ministry said four groups of companies have made bids in Israel's latest tender for offshore hydrocarbon exploration and production as interest grows in the East Mediterranean natural gas and LNG hub.

Egypt said it was planning to drill around 35 new exploratory natural gas wells in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Nile Delta by 2025 with $1.8 billion in investments in joint ventures with oil and gas majors and with a view to increasing liquefied natural gas production.

Adriatic LNG, the ExxonMobil-owned company that operates the largest liquefied natural gas regasification terminal in Italy, has launched the accreditation phase for the 2023 open season aimed at operators interested in acquiring capacity.

SDX Energy plc, the UK-based oil and gas exploration and production company, said it had received multiple offers for its Egyptian natural gas assets and was considering them.

Italian energy company Eni and US major Chevron Corp. have made a “significant” gas discovery in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea offshore Egypt in a follow up for Eni on its huge Zohr gas field that enabled the Egyptians again to become LNG exporters.

Egypt’s Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Tareq El-Molla has said that Egypt was ready to meet more of the increased demand for natural gas in Europe as its LNG exports have increased to 8 million tonnes per annum in 2022 and the capacity is there for growth in 2023.

“Efforts exerted over the past years have made of Egypt one of the solutions to the ongoing energy problem,” said the Minister in a keynote speech to the eighth Egypt Oil and Gas Convention on November 27 in Cairo.

The convention was taking place at the Dusit Thani Lakeview Hotel in the Egyptian capital through November 29.

El-Molla noted that Egypt had the capacity to export up to 12 MTPA of LNG annually from the two plants located east of the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

He said that out of the total of LNG cargo exports from the Idku LNG plant and the Damietta facility about 90 percent were delivered to Europe.

He noted that the successes of the petroleum sector in Egypt was due to the integrated strategy of partnerships between the public and private sectors and was fully supported by the government of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

“The petroleum sector is also seeking mechanisms of action that would maximize cooperation with international partners to be able to make optimal use of our natural resources,” said the Minister.

The Minister said that the strategy rested on increasing and sustaining oil and natural gas production while also reducing carbon emissions.

Feed-gas boosted

Egypt is set to increase LNG supplies by almost 30 percent this year compared with the 6.1MT shipped in 2021 as feed-gas supplies have stabilised.

The Minister added that Egypt's revenues from the exports of LNG, petrochemicals and petroleum products would amount in 2022 to $19 billion.

He said that Egypt was working towards developing energy sources of all kinds simultaneously, be they traditional energy sources, especially natural gas, or renewable sources like solar energy and wind.

Egypt’s previous natural gas shortages were solved by Eni’s Zohr gas field discovery in the East Med and other gas finds in the nation’s extensive oil and gas basins leading to a re-start of the Damietta LNG plant in February 2021 after it had been idle since the end of 2012.

The Egyptian domestic natural gas market also receives pipeline gas from Israel.

The Damietta facility has as its shareholders the Italian energy company Eni as well as two of Egypt’s state-owned companies, Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. (EGPC).

The facility has nameplate capacity of 5 MTPA and with Eni owning 50 percent of the plant while EGAS and EGPC hold 40 percent and 10 percent respectively.

The second Egyptian plant, the Idku facility, has 7.2 MTPA of capacity from two Trains and is operated by Shell.

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.

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), the OPEC of natural gas and LNG, has held its 24th Ministerial Meeting in Cairo and stated that attempts to cap natural gas prices because of political motives were detrimental for producers and consumers.

Italian energy company Eni reported group adjusted second quarter 2022 EBIT of €5.84 bill, up 13% quarter-on-quarter and more than doubling the year-on-year figures.