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More gas work slated in Egypt

Emirati energy company Dana Gas to drill first of 30 new natural gas wells in the Niger Delta region of Egypt. Map courtesy of Dana Gas. SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates, June 8 (UPI) — Emirati energy company Dana Gas said it started a new drilling campaign in Egypt in a deal that gives it the right to sell the government’s share of reserves. The company said it will spend the next four months drilling into the Balsam-2 concession onshore in the Nile Delta region, the first of an estimated 30 new wells covered under a gas production enhancement agreement. "Balsam-2 is the company’s first horizontal well in Egypt and is a fitting well to kick off this drilling campaign which effectively targets to develop all the Company’s remaining conventional gas reserves," Mark Fenton, Dana’s general manager for Egyptian operations, said in a statement. Dana under the terms of the […]

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Eni brags of oil production in Egypt

With investment confidence rising, Italian energy company Eni said its oil production in Egypt has doubled in just three years. Photo courtesy of Egyptian Presidency Office MILAN, Italy, April 20 (UPI) — Italian energy company Eni said Monday its oil production in the Western Desert of Egypt has reached a record level, doubling its rate in just three years. Eni said it’s producing around 70,000 barrels of oil per day in the region. The company said that’s twice the rate from three years ago and comes in large part from the Melehia development west of Alexandria, which is producing about 54,000 bpd. "In January this year, Eni signed a new concession agreement to operate in the Melehia southwest block, where exploration activities on the same deep plays will start within the year," the company said in a statement. "Eni deems this concession a key element for the sustainability of […]

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Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan Sign Nile Dam Declaration

ENLARGE Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, right, next to his Sudanese counterpart Omar Bashir during a welcoming ceremony in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Monday. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia took a step Monday to defuse tensions around Ethiopia’s construction of a massive dam on the Blue Nile, which has threatened to upset the geopolitical balance in the region over how to share water from the River Nile. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Ethiopian Prime Minister Halemariam Desalegn signed a declaration in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, pledging to better share the Nile’s waters, an Egyptian presidency official familiar with the matter said. Ethiopia has said the project is necessary to produce much-needed electricity, but the building of the dam has been controversial, with some scientists predicting it could disrupt the flow of the river into Egypt, where it provides much […]

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Egypt Signs Gas Import Deal With Russia’a Gazprom – Petroleum Ministry

Cairo — Egypt signed a deal to import 35 shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) over five years with Russian energy company Gazprom on Tuesday, the Petroleum Ministry said in a statement. The deal will see Egypt receive seven shipments of LNG annually for five years. The state’s Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company signed the deal with the giant Russian firm. Gazprom has an 18 percent share of global natural gas reserves. The two sides will agree on when Egypt will receive shipments in the second half of this year. Signing this deal brings the amount of LNG shipments Egypt has agreed to import to 90 shipments provided by five foreign companies, 49 of which are going to be delivered in 2015 and 2016. These agreements are part of the state’s global tender to import natural gas in order to meet fuel demands of electric power plants, amid a […]

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Eni envisions $5 billion investments in Egypt

Italian energy company Eni signs framework agreement that envisions large-scale investments in country’s oil and gas reserves. Photo courtesy: Eni Italian energy company Eni said it signed a framework agreement to develop Egyptian oil and gas reserves that calls for as much as $5 billion in investments. Eni Chief Executive Officer, Claudio Descalzi, met over the weekend with Egyptian Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail on the sidelines of an economic summit in Sharm el-Sheik. The framework agreement calls for as much as $5 billion in total investments. "The investments, which will be utilized through the realization of projects to be implemented in the next 4 years, are directed to the development of 200 million barrels of oil and 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas," the Italian company said in a Saturday statement. "These investments will also contribute effectively to the increasing energy needs of local demand." Political and economic […]

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Egypt Signs U.S.$12 Billion Deal With British Energy Giant BP

Cairo — Egypt’s Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail signed an energy deal worth $12 billion (91.5 billion Egyptian pounds) with energy firm British Petroleum (BP) on Saturday. Ismail was cited by Egyptian state news agency MENA as saying that the deal is set to provide Egypt with a quarter of local energy production and will contribute to filling the gap in demand of petroleum products by 2020. The deal will see the British energy giant develop 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 55 million barrels of condensates in the West Nile Delta area. BP announced earlier this month the discovery of a deepwater exploration well, called Atoll-1. "The estimated potential in the concession exceeds 5 trillion cubic feet," the company said in a press release on March 9. Egypt has been facing an energy crisis for years, with power outages surging in the summer. Egyptian authorities have often […]

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On the River Nile, a Move to Avert a Conflict Over Water

Ethiopia’s plans to build Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam on the Nile have sparked tensions with Egypt, which depends on the river to irrigate its arid land. But after years of tensions, an international agreement to share the Nile’s waters may be in sight. For thousands of years, Egyptians have depended on the waters of the Nile flowing out of the Ethiopian highlands and central Africa. It is the world’s longest river, passing through 11 countries, but without its waters the most downstream of those nations, Egypt, is a barren desert. So when, in 2011, Ethiopia began to build a giant hydroelectric dam across the river’s largest tributary, the Blue Nile, it looked like Egypt might carry out its long-standing threat to go to war to protect its lifeline. But last weekend, all appeared to change. Ministers from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan agreed on the basis for a deal for […]

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Egypt: Petroleum Ministry Pumps 43 Thousand Tonnes of Diesel Oil to Over Come Fuel Shortage – Statement

Cairo — Egypt’s ministry of petroleum pumped on Wednesday 43 thousand tonnes of diesel oil nationwide, Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail said on Thursday, to overcome a fuel crisis which has persisted this week. Ismail said in a statement that the amount of diesel oil pumped is 110 percent more than the planned amount, describing it as "unprecedented". Egypt’s capital witnessed this week long queues outside gas stations and recurring power cuts due to fuel shortage, alongside other governorates. Ismail urged citizens to refrain from overcrowding gas stations, stressing that the amount of diesel oil pumped is proof of its availability within the domestic market. Egypt’s fuel crisis, ongoing for the past three years, usually surges during the summer, when power cuts occur with the highest frequency.

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On the River Nile, a Move to Avert a Conflict Over Water

Ethiopia’s plans to build Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam on the Nile have sparked tensions with Egypt, which depends on the river to irrigate its arid land. But after years of tensions, an international agreement to share the Nile’s waters may be in sight. For thousands of years, Egyptians have depended on the waters of the Nile flowing out of the Ethiopian highlands and central Africa. It is the world’s longest river, passing through 11 countries, but without its waters the most downstream of those nations, Egypt, is a barren desert. So when, in 2011, Ethiopia began to build a giant hydroelectric dam across the river’s largest tributary, the Blue Nile, it looked like Egypt might carry out its long-standing threat to go to war to protect its lifeline. But last weekend, all appeared to change. Ministers from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan agreed on the basis for a deal for […]

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BP Announces Offshore Gas Discovery in Egypt

LONDON–BP PLC said Monday it has made a significant gas discovery offshore Egypt days after announcing plans to help invest around $12 billion to develop gas and condensate from its West Nile Delta project in the country. The discovery and investment in Egypt’s energy sector is welcome news for the country, which is facing its worst energy crisis in decades amid rising demand and falling gas production. BP said Monday its Atoll-1 deepwater exploration well in the East Nile Delta had hit 50 meters of gas-bearing rock, the company’s second major discovery in the area since 2013 and a promising sign for the potential commercial development of the concession. The company estimates that the potential volume of gas in the area could exceed 5 trillion cubic feet. The discovery follows BP’s decision last week to go ahead with development of the West Nile Delta project, in which it holds […]

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