LNG

Gazprom, the main supplier of pipeline natural gas to Germany, has cut supply volumes through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline by another third, after an initial reduction on June 14 and has also cut flows to Austria and Italy.

The chief executives of Italian energy company Eni and Algerian LNG, pipeline natural gas and oil group Sonatrach have signed an accord related to the North African nation’s onshore Berkine Basin.

Sonatrach CEO Toufik Hakkar and his Eni counterpart Claudio Descalzi, signed the deal in the presence of the Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines Mohamed Arkab and Italian Ambassador to Algeria Giovanni Pugliese.

“Eni and Sonatrach also signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on initiatives in the energy transition,” said a statement.

“The agreements are testimony to the commitment of Sonatrach and Eni to continue the shared strategy of accelerated project development,” said Eni CEO Descalzi.

The Algerian Government noted that the Berkine Basin contract was the first ever signed under the aegis of the new Algerian oil law and covers an area of 7,880 square kilometres in the southern part of the Berkine Basin, in close proximity to the company's current production assets.

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Descalzi and Hakkar stated that they shared the commitment to create an ambitious exploration and development programme in the area.

“In the first phase, the project envisages the fast-tracked development of reserves estimated at 135 million barrels of oil equivalent, with a start-up of production expected by the end of 2022,” it added.

“This project will enhance synergies with existing plants. The entry into force of the new contract is subject to approval by the competent Algerian authorities,” they stated.

Eni has been present in Algeria since 1981 and is the operator of various permits with an equity production in the country of 95,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Eni also recently agreed earlier in December 2021 to sell a minority stake in two pipelines involved in transporting natural gas from Algeria to Italy for €385 million ($435M) to Italian LNG terminal and gas grid operator Snam.

Eni said that deal involved Snam purchasing a 49.9 percent stake in the onshore gas pipelines running from Algeria to the Tunisia border and the Tunisia coast (TTPC), and the offshore gas pipelines connecting the Tunisian coast to Italy (TMPC).

Eni said the transaction would create synergies in the respective areas of expertise in gas transport on a strategic route for the security of the natural gas supply to Italy.

Snam said the deal consolidated Snam’s central role in Italy’s security of supply as well as in energy transport from the Mediterranean region.

Snam operates the gas grid and the onshore Panigaglia facility in the northwest near Genoa as well as having a 49 percent stake in the LNG facility, the “FSRU Toscana”, which is deployed off the Italian west coast.

July 30 (LNG) - ENI, the Italian oil and gas company and prominent LNG market participant, reported second-quarter earnings of €2.045 billion ($2.42Bln) in the form of an adjusted operating profit compared with a loss of €434 million in the same quarter of 2020.

   ENI said natural gas sales of 16.95 billion cubic metres increased by 22 percent compared with the same period of 2020. “This was mainly due to the higher gas volumes marketed outside Italy (Turkey and France) driven by the reopening of the economies and by higher volumes of LNG sold mainly by the Damietta (Egypt) plant. In the first half of 2021, natural gas sales were 34.43 Bcm, up by 13 percent.

   The Milan-based company’s natural gas production amounted to 4.34 billion cubic feet per day in the period, down by 7 percent compared with the 4.53 bcf per day posted in the same three months of 2020. “Lower production was due to higher maintenance activity, mature field declines and a decrease in Nigeria. These negatives were partly offset by a robust recovery of natural gas demand in certain areas, mainly in Egypt, and the start-up of Merakes field in Indonesia,” added ENI.

Italian energy company Eni and UK major BP announced a new natural gas discovery in the “Great Nooros Area” of the Abu Madi West Development lease in the Nile Delta offshore Egypt and coupled with other finds in the block there is potential for LNG production.

Eni said that there could be more than 4 trillion cubic feet of gas in place in the Great Nooros Area where there have been other discoveries since 2015.

The latest exploration and production success for Eni is making the East Mediterranean Basin a potential world-class gas province with other nations such as Israel and Cyprus also making discoveries in recent years.

The Nile Delta Block operator Eni said the new discovery, achieved through the Nidoco NW-1 exploratory well, is located in 16 metres of water depth and is four kilometres north from the Nooros field discovered in July 2015.

The Nidoco NW-1 exploratory well discovered gas-bearing sands for a total thickness of 100 metres.

“In the Abu Madi formations a new level, which was not yet encountered in the Nooros field, has been crossed proving the high potential of the Great Nooros Area and the further extension of the gas potential to the North of the field,” explained the Italian company.

“The preliminary evaluation of the well results, considering the extension of the reservoir towards north and the dynamic behaviour of the field, together with the recent discoveries performed in the area, indicates that the Great Nooros Area gas in place can be estimated in excess of 4 Tcf,” stated Eni.

Eni said that together with its partner BP and in coordination with the Egyptian petroleum sector, it would begin screening the development options of this new discovery and available synergies with the area's existing infrastructure.

Eni holds a 75 percent stake in the license of Abu Madi West lease, while BP owns the remaining 25 percent stake.

The Italian company’s title of operator is in conjunction with Petrobel, an equal joint venture between Eni and the state company Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. (EGPC).

Eni signed a series of agreements in March 2020 with the government of Egypt and state-owned companies to re-open the nation’s Damietta LNG export plant east of Alexandria.

The plant, a joint venture called Segas, is 40 percent-owned by Eni through Union Fenosa Gas (50 percent Eni and 50 percent Naturgy).

The facility has a nameplate capacity of 5.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG, but has been idle since November 2012 when Egypt suffered natural gas shortages.

In addition to Damietta LNG, Egypt has a second export plant, the Idku facility operated by Royal Dutch Shell and which has been back in commercial operation since 2017.

Eni’s discovery of the huge Zohr gas field in the East Med in 2015 helped transform the Arab nation’s LNG and domestic gas fortunes.  

Dutch firm Boskalis Subsea Services said it completed a multi-million-dollar contract awarded by French energy group Perenco to support a pipeline and gas lifespan extension project in the UK’s Southern North Sea in competition to liquefied natural gas deliveries.

Oct 25 (LNGJ) - Eni, the Italian energy company with stakes in projects such as Mozambique LNG, reported a 35 percent drop in third-quarter adjusted operating profit to 2.159 billion euros ($2.380Bln) from 3.304Bln euros in the same three months a year ago due to a weakened trading environment. The company said its quarterly worldwide natural gas sales fell 4 percent to 16.85 billion cubic metres from 17.47 Bcm in 2018. Eni’s quarterly LNG sales were unchanged at 1.85 million tonnes, though fell by 6 percent to 5.47MT in the first nine months of 2019.

   Eni’s natural gas sales in Italy fell 5 percent to 8.72 Bcm in the third quarter and amounted to 29.18 Bcm in the nine months period, mainly due to lower sales to wholesalers and hubs, partly offset by higher sales to the power and industrial sectors. Sales in other European natural gas markets amounted to 5.09 Bcm, in line with the 2018 quarter. Nine-month European natural gas sales fell 11 percent to 16.94 Bcm from 19.14 Bcm in 2018.