LNG

A meeting has taken place in Cyprus to push forward with future East Mediterranean natural gas and LNG joint ventures recently affected by conflict in the Middle East.

Excelerate Energy Inc., the specialist US company for LNG floating storage and regasification projects from South America to the Nordic region and South Asia, has posted strong earnings as its cargo trading portfolio continues to grow.

NewMed Energy, a stakeholder in the largest Israeli offshore natural gas field and a likely future LNG feed-gas supplier, said it was looking more unlikely that it would proceed with the process of being listed on the London Stock Exchange through a reverse takeover of UK company Capricorn Energy.

The expected completion date of the NewMed merger with London-listed Capricorn was the first quarter of 2023.

However, Capricorn has been caught up in a dispute with a major shareholder and has put back a meeting of all shareholders to approve the deal with NewMed.

Capricorn had previously cancelled its proposed merger with UK rival Tullow Oil in favour of the combination with Israel’s NewMed, which was first announced on September 29, 2022.

There had been plans for a $1.4 billion merger between Tullow and Capricorn, which is based in Edinburgh and was formerly known as Cairn Energy.

Among its assets, NewMed holds the rights to 45 percent of the Leviathan Israeli offshore gas field with the other major shareholder in the field being Chevron Corp.

Cyprus gas field

NewMed also has the Aphrodite gas field in Cyprus's offshore economic zone waters, making it one of the biggest players in the East Mediterranean.

In the latest merger developments, Capricorn released a statement to the London Stock Exchange whereby it had decided to adjourn Capricorn's shareholder meeting called for the purpose of approving the NewMed transaction, to February 22 instead of February 1.

An alternative shareholder meeting was called at the request of one significant Capricorn shareholder, Palliser Capital (UK) Ltd., for the replacement of the serving directors of Capricorn with new directors that were proposed by Palliser and a meeting for this purpose was then scheduled to take place on February 1 instead of a meeting to approve the NewMed deal.

Members of the board of Capricorn, including the Chairman of the board and the Chief Executive, resigned immediately from the board and it was also the intention of two other directors, including the Chief Finance Officer, to resign from the board before the February 1 meeting called at the request of Palliser.

NewMed said that in view of these developments and the resignation of most of the Capricorn board members, the probability for the closing of the UK transaction had “significantly decreased”.

The Israeli company said it was continuing to examine strategic alternatives with the aim of “maximizing value” for its own shareholders.

NewMed is currently in the midst of plans to promote the expansion of the Leviathan gas field offshore Israel and the development of the Aphrodite reservoir alongside the launch of exploration and production of natural gas in other Middle East countries.

The Leviathan gas field in addition to supplying the Israeli domestic market also supplies Egypt and Jordan with gas and has existing plans to possibly supply feed gas for liquefaction at the two Egyptian LNG plants, Idku and Damietta, located east of Alexandria.

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.

Chevron Corp., the US major with liquefied natural gas projects in nations such as Australia and mainly supplying the Asia-Pacific region, said events in Europe meant a gradual change in strategy to increase LNG activities in the Atlantic Basin, including the East Mediterranean.

Egypt said its rising natural gas surplus through 2020 would be used to satisfy demand from the power and industry sectors and to meet LNG export obligations as its overall output reaches more than 5 billion cubic feet per day.

The Egyptian Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister, Tarek El Molla, addressed the nation’s natural gas output targets at a World Economic Forum meeting held at a Dead Sea resort at southern Shuneh in Jordan.

El Molla said he was pleased with the output from Egypt’s natural gas fields on the West Nile Delta, at Noor in North Sinai, the Atoll field in the East Nile Delta and the giant Zohr resources in the East Mediterranean.

The Minister noted that Egypt had recently launched an international tender for new exploration licences in 10 areas of the Red Sea where it would also have cooperation from Saudi Arabia.

El Molla held talks with his Saudi counterpart Khaled el Faleh on means of boosting joint cooperation.

“The two ministers exchanged views on opportunities of oil and gas exploration in the Red Sea and means of intensifying search and exploration operations in the coming phase,” said a statement.

At the same time the Egyptian minister said the nation was pursuing LNG exports from the Idku liquefaction plant near Alexandria, which resumed in 2017, and was also set to restart production at the nearby Damietta LNG facility.

“We are exporting 1.1 billion cubic feet per day and we expect that by the end of the year this figure will go up to 2 bcf per day, and this is when we resume the operation of the Damietta plant,” said El Molla.

“The second plant is expected to operate within this year,” added the Minister.

On the Red Sea tenders, interested companies have been given until August to submit their bids for the 10 licences to be issued on the production-sharing model and covering an area of 3,000 square kilometres.

“We are preparing to become an energy hub as everybody knows we have a fantastic geographical location between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean,” said El Molla.

“We also have important infrastructure, the Suez Canal, LNG plants in Damietta and Port Said, refineries on two coasts and the Sumed pipeline running from the Gulf of Suez to offshore Alexandria,” he explained.

“For example, we’ve signed agreements with Cyprus to bring their gas here, whether for our domestic use or to export on their behalf through our LNG facilities. There’s an opportunity to do the same with any other gas in the Eastern Mediterranean basin,” added the minister.

The start of production at the Zohr field by Italian energy company Eni in 2016 transformed the country from being an importer to again being an exporter.

As regards its import facilities in the form of two floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) deployed at the port of Ain Sokhna in the Gulf of Suez, one FSRU would continue to be in operation for strategic reasons.

“The regasification plant, which is the FSRU standing at Ain Sokhna, is going to be there for strategic reasons but on idle mode,” he added.

ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum, the leading global liquefied natural gas stakeholders, have made a large natural gas discovery offshore Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean, opening more prospects for regional LNG production.

The first US liquefied natural gas cargo is scheduled to be delivered to Israel around May 25 at the Hadera floating import facility offshore the city of Haifa to boost peak supplies for power generation.

Noble Energy, the US company with assets in key US basins and offshore Israel, said the business progressed in the third quarter as new US wells came on stream, Israeli natural gas production hit records and the Leviathan field in the East Mediterranean advanced towards completion in 2019 when it would reduce LNG needs in Jordan.