Egypt plans to end fuel subsidies within three years and is aiming to increase fuel prices to 65 percent of their actual cost during the 2016/17 fiscal year, two government Continue Reading
With pressure on the sector easing, a subsidiary of field services company Schlumberger said it secured a multi-million dollar contract for offshore Egypt. Schlumberger, which has headquarters in Houston, is Continue Reading
BP sanctions the development of the Atoll Phase One project in Egypt. BP announced Monday that, together with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), it has sanctioned the development Continue Reading
British energy company BP said Monday it was putting a deepwater natural gas project in Egypt on the fast track to development. BP and its regional partner, the Egyptian Natural Continue Reading
A new natural gas discovery on the coast of Egypt’s Nile Delta has been made by Eni and British Petroleum (BP). The two companies own a 50-50 share of the Continue Reading
Natural Gas Exports Riding high on a series of major discoveries and what appears to be renewed investor interest in Egypt’s energy sector, the Oil Ministry is now targeting a Continue Reading
Israel and Egypt are close to a compromise that would sweep away a major obstacle to a multibillion-dollar natural gas deal. (Bloomberg) – Israel and Egypt are close to a Continue Reading
Italian energy company Eni said Wednesday it was able to boost its production at a gas field in Egypt within a year of making the initial discovery. Eni said production Continue Reading
Egypt offers a bright spot for natural gas development, a lone bright spot in an energy world undergoing harsh austerity. The friendly business environment in Egypt right now stems, in Continue Reading
Egypt and Gulf Arab crude producers have yet to let Saudi Arabia’s regional rival Iran resume oil shipments through a pipeline they operate to supply customers in Europe and the Continue Reading
Danish engineering company Subsea 7 said it was awarded a contract to help BP develop three gas fields, including laying export lines, off the coast of Egypt. For an undisclosed Continue Reading
talian energy company Eni said it received consent from the Egyptian government to lay the groundwork for developing a giant offshore gas basin. Eni said received word from the Egyptian Continue Reading
Egypt will get about $20 billion in oil products from Saudi Arabia over five years, a government official said, marking the kingdom’s latest display of support for its struggling North Continue Reading
BP’s diversion of a tanker of liquefied natural gas (LNG) away from Egypt due to payment issues is the first sign that the country’s currency crisis could be jeopardizing its Continue Reading
Leaders from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have signed an agreement designed to assuage Egyptian worries over the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Egyptian Streets reported Dec. 29. Egypt Continue Reading
Dec 24 Israel’s government has given the go ahead to begin exporting natural gas to Egypt, signalling a potential improvement in relations between two countries which have been at loggerheads Continue Reading
Companies working in the Israel energy sector said they’re still pursing commercial deals in Egypt despite reports of a breakdown in talks. Egyptian media outlet Ahram Online reported during the Continue Reading
Egypt’s foreign-currency crunch has solar developers concerned about financing new power plants. Cairo Solar has lined up a $51 million loan from the International Finance Corp. for a planned 50-megawatt solar farm. Chairman Hisham Tawfik says he’s worried about paying it back because the government has guaranteed payment for the electricity it will produce — in Egyptian pounds. It’s been more than four years since the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak. The political upheaval has scared away outside investors and tourists, and Egypt’s foreign reserves have dwindled to $16.6 billion, less than half 2010 levels. The central bank has imposed restrictions that make Tawfik’s pounds difficult to convert to other currencies. “How can I be happy if I have a lot of Egyptian pounds in the bank and I can’t change them to dollars,” Tawfik, who is also on the board of the Egyptian Renewable Energy Association, said […]
Italian energy company Eni strengthens position in Egypt with two new concessions in the Mediterranean Sea. File photo by Ashraf Mohamad/UPI MILAN, Italy, Oct. 12 (UPI) — Italian energy company Eni said it was building on a legacy position in Mediterranean waters with two new shallow-water concessions offshore Egypt. Eni takes a position alongside British energy company BP and French company Total in the shallow-water Karawan and North Leil blocks off the Egyptian coast. Eni offered no estimate of the reserve potential in the two exploration areas, which combine for 1,280 square miles. The Italian company will serve as the operator of the two basins. "These two new concession agreements follow the recent award of the deep water Karawan and North Leil blocks, strengthening Eni’s presence in Egypt, a country of historic and strategic importance," the Italian company noted. Eni announced a discovery of gas in a deepwater prospect […]
Eni SPA and BP PLC have been awarded exploration rights to the 1,927-sq-km Block 4 and 1,389-sq-km Block 7 offshore Egypt following the 2015 Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co. (Egas) Continue Reading
A natural gas find off the Egyptian coast will help stimulate the nation’s economy, the International Monetary Fund said. File photo by Ahmed Jomaa/UPI WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) — The discovery of a major deposit of natural gas off the Egyptian coast should help ensure positive economic growth, the International Monetary Fund said. Members of the IMF met in Cairo with Egyptian Central Bank Gov. Hisham Ramez, Finance Minister Hany Dimian and other representatives to discuss planned economic policies and developments. The issuance of a $1.5 billion bond helped lead to 4.2 percent growth in the Egyptian economy. Chris Jarvis, head of mission for the IMF, said the major gas find made by Italian energy company Eni will help stimulate the Egyptian economy in the medium term. Eni announced a discovery of gas in a deepwater prospect off the Egyptian coast last month. With an estimated 30 trillion cubic […]
The recent discovery of giant natural gas deposits in Egypt’s Zohr plot does not negate the country’s export deal with Cyprus, newly-accredited ambassador Hussein Mubarak told the Cyprus Weekly. Although Nicosia is looking into different scenarios, Cairo’s offer to import the gas from the Aphrodite plot offshore Cyprus, liquefy it in Egypt and sell it to Europe is there. “The discovery of the new natural gas at plot Zohr will not change the policy of Egypt towards Cyprus, Egypt is a huge country with huge energy needs,” Mubarak said. “Egypt has offered to import Cyprus natural gas for domestic use and also for liquefication at the plant in Egypt and then sell it to Europe, everywhere. “I think, economically, to start a liquefication plant is very costly, we already have a plant to treat it and liquefy it and sell it to Europe,” he added. The ambassador also said […]
A worker from the Israeli gas-drilling Tamar platform in July. Israeli officials expressed concern that the discovery of an extensive gas field off the coast of Egypt could upend Israeli development of its energy resources. The Italian energy company Eni E 0.92 % SpA on Sunday announced the discovery of the largest gas field in the Mediterranean, threatening a deal between the Israeli government and developers that was based on expectations of substantial gas exports to Egypt. That deal already was bogged down in disagreements about regulation, pricing and profit-sharing that have delayed the start of production. “The discovery of the Egyptian gas field is a painful reminder that while Israel has been asleep at the wheel and delaying final approval of the gas deal and additional exploration, the world is changing before our very eyes with implications for export possibilities,” Israel’s Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said after Sunday’s […]
Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Italian energy company Eni, says latest gas discovery off the Egyptian coast may be a game changer for the country. Photo courtesy of Eni. CAIRO, Aug. 31 (UPI) — The discovery of what may be the world’s largest gas field off the Egyptian coast could be a sea change for the North African country, Italy’s Eni said. Eni announced the discovery of gas in the deepwater Zohr prospect off the Egyptian coast. With an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in place, it’s the largest ever made in regional waters and potentially the largest in the world . "This historic discovery will be able to transform the energy scenario of Egypt," Claudio Descalzi, the chief executive officer of Eni, said in a statement. "This exploration success acquires an even greater value as it was made in Egypt which is strategic for Eni, and […]
Eni SPA expects accelerated development of what it describes as a “supergiant gas discovery ” at its deepwater Zohr prospect offshore Egypt. The company will immediately appraise its discovery, which it says might hold 30 tcf of lean gas in place in an area covering 100 sq km. The Zohr 1X NFW discovery well was drilled to a total depth of 13,553 ft in 4,757 ft of water on Egypt’s Shorouk Block 9. The well hit a 2,067-ft hydrocarbon column in a carbonate sequence of Miocene age with 400 m of net pay, Eni said. The company has future plans to target a deeper Cretaceous upside with a dedicated well. Zohr is the largest gas discovery made in Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, and if early estimates hold true, could become one of the world’s largest natural gas finds, the company said. As Eni begins to fast track development […]
Eni SpA discovered a “super giant” natural gas field offshore Egypt in what the Italian oil company said is the largest find in the Mediterranean Sea. The deep-water deposit in the Zohr Prospect in the Shorouk block may hold 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, equivalent to 5.5 billion barrels of oil, Eni said in an e-mailed statement Sunday. Eni, which wholly owns the license for Shorouk, said the discovery validates its strategy of exploring mature areas. Egypt’s petroleum ministry confirmed the discovery in a separate statement. “Egypt has still great potential,” Claudio Descalzi, the company’s chief executive officer, said in the statement. “This historic discovery” will transform the energy industry in Egypt, he said. International oil and gas companies are seeking new deposits as existing fields become depleted. Egypt’s energy demand is rising as the Arab world’s largest population grows, making the country more reliant on imports provided […]
Russian energy company Rosneft reaches Egyptian gas deal during bilateral trade talks in Moscow. Photo courtesy of the office of Russian President Vladimir Putin. MOSCOW, Aug. 27 (UPI) — Russian energy company Rosneft said Thursday it was marking its frontier entry into the global liquefied natural gas market through a deal in Egypt. Rosneft signed an LNG supply and purchase agreement with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co. Documents were signed between Rosneft board members and their Egyptian counterparts during a visit to Moscow by Egyptian President Abdel Fattal el-Sisi. "Cooperation with EGAS marks Rosneft’s entry into the world LNG trading market," the company said in a statement. "Also, implementation of the provisions of the signed documents will, in the long term, open access for Rosneft to the Egyptian gas market which has a significant growth potential." Egypt is a global leader in terms of natural gas consumption and […]
A security official stands guard at the site of a bomb blast at a national security building in Shubra Al-Khaima, on the outskirts of Cairo, August 20, 2015. Islamic State’s Egypt affiliate said it was behind a car bombing that wounded 29 people near a state security building and courthouse in a Cairo suburb early on Thursday. A statement circulated on Twitter by supporters of the group, Sinai Province, said the bomb was a reprisal for the execution of six of its members convicted of carrying out an attack north of the Egyptian capital last year. "Let the apostates of the police and army, the followers of Jews, know we are a people who do not forget our revenge," the statement said. In May, Egypt executed six members of Sinai Province for attacking soldiers near Cairo in 2014. The men were convicted on charges which included carrying out an […]
The first cargo ships passed through Egypt’s New Suez Canal last week in a test-run before it opened on Thursday [Reuters] Egypt has unveiled a major extension of the Suez Canal billed by its President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi as a historic achievement needed to boost the country’s ailing economy after years of unrest. Sisi, wearing his ceremonial military uniform and trademark dark sunglasses on a sweltering August day, flew to the site on Thursday aboard a military helicopter and immediately boarded a monarchy-era yacht that sailed to the venue of the ceremony. A visibly triumphant Sisi stood on the vessel’s upper deck, waving to well-wishers and dance troupes performing on shore. At one point, a young boy in military uniform and holding an Egyptian red, black and white flag joined him on the deck. Historical facts: the Suez Canal Planning for the Suez Canal officially began in 1854 when a […]
Italian energy company Eni said it will get new gas moving in Egypt within two months. File Photo by project1photography/Shutterstock MILAN, Italy, July 20 (UPI) — Italian energy company Eni said Monday it made what it considers to be an important discovery of natural gas in the Egyptian Nile Delta. Eni said it made a discovery in the Nooros exploration prospect in the Abu Madi West license area, about 75 miles northeast of Alexandria. "Preliminary estimates of the discovery account for a potential of 530 billion cubic feet of gas in place with upside, plus associated condensates," the company said in a statement. Eni in January signed two new agreements in the deep waters of the Mediterranean Sea following an auction held by the Egyptian government in 2013. In March, the company said it signed a framework agreement to develop Egyptian oil and gas reserves that calls for as […]
Photo An Egyptian naval vessel burned off the coast of the northern Sinai Peninsula on Thursday. A militant group and the military gave conflicting accounts of an attack. Credit Hatem Khaled/European Pressphoto Agency CAIRO — A militant group affiliated with the Islamic State said it destroyed an Egyptian naval vessel on Thursday, posting photographs on social media of a missile exploding in a ball of fire as it slammed into the vessel. An Egyptian military spokesman said that the crew of the unnamed ship “exchanged fire” with militants off the coast of the northern Sinai Peninsula, causing a fire on board that did not result in any fatalities. But the militant group, which calls itself Sinai Province, claimed that the missile was guided and had killed everyone on board. It was at least the fourth unusually bold militant assault since late June, when Egypt’s top prosecutor was killed by […]
[Reuters] An Egyptian naval vessel has caught fire in the eastern Mediterranean during a clash with fighters affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in Sinai Peninsula, the military said. Inside Story – Has Sisi’s Egypt failed on security? The patrol boat spotted the fighters from the Sinai Province group on the coast of Rafah on Thursday and engaged them, the military’s spokesman said in a statement. The boat went up in flames during an ensuing firefight. The military said it suffered no casualties, in the attack, which Sinai Province later claimed on Twitter. A series of pictures released by the group, showed a missile approaching and striking the vessel causing a large explosion. A witness in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, just across the border with the Egyptian town of Rafah, said the boat was struck at least three kilometres from the shore. "We […]
Photo A funeral on Thursday in Ashmoun, in the Nile Delta, for First Lt. Mohamed Ashraf, one of the soldiers killed Wednesday in a militant attack in the Sinai Peninsula. Credit Sameh Abouhasan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images CAIRO — Egypt ’s military killed 23 militants in the northern Sinai Peninsula early Thursday, a senior security official said, as the government sought to reassert control and eradicate what it called the area’s “terrorist dens” after the largest assault there by jihadists affiliated with the Islamic State. That assault, on Wednesday, stunned officials in President Abdel Fattah el-Sisis’s government with its scale and audacity. Militants belonging to a group calling itself Sinai Province launched coordinated attacks on military checkpoints in the northern Sinai before storming a town and occupying it for hours. The military carried out airstrikes with F-16 warplanes on the town, Sheikh Zuwaid, to force a militant retreat. A […]
CAIRO — Two years after President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led a military takeover promising to restore order and security in Egypt , he faces a rising jihadist insurgency that has shaken the stability of this most populous Arab state, a key ally of the United States. Just two days after militants assassinated Egypt ’s top prosecutor on a Cairo street, the military on Wednesday called in F-16 war planes and helicopters to beat back a coordinated assault in Northern Sinai by a jihadist group affiliated with the Islamic State. Egyptian soldiers were killed, police officers were trapped in their posts, ambulances were paralyzed by booby-trapped roads and residents were warned to stay indoors by jihadists roaming on motorcycles. The scale and complexity of the attack far exceeded any of the group’s previous strikes in Sinai, raising the possibility that it has begun to coordinate more closely with the Islamic […]
Egypt’s military spokesman has said the situation in North Sinai is "100 percent under control", following clashes that reportedly left more than 100 people dead. The spokesman, Mohamed Sanir, was speaking by phone to state television on Wednesday. A group pledging allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, the Province of Sinai, had claimed responsibility for attacks on more than 15 security sites. Egypt’s army said more than 100 fighters and 17 soldiers were killed after simultaneous assaults on military checkpoints in North Sinai, in the deadliest fighting in years in the province bordering Israel and the Gaza Strip. Some security sources put the death toll for army and police much higher. After a day of fighting, which involved F-16 jets and Apache helicopters, the army said it would not stop its operations until it had cleared the area of all "terrorist concentrations". Security […]
A statement on the Brotherhood’s website said the group held President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi responsible for the killings [YouTube] The Muslim Brotherhood has warned of "serious repercussions" and has called on its supporters to "rise in revolt" after Egyptian police killed 13 of its members. Egyptian police raided an apartment in the Cairo suburb of 6th of October on Wednesday and killed 13 of the outlawed group’s leading members , including a former member of parliament, Nasser al-Hafy, security sources and a member of the group said. The Brotherhood members were reportedly meeting to discuss sponsoring the families of detainees when the police stormed the building. Egypt’s interior ministry, however, said the men were fugitive leaders who were plotting attacks – something the group denies – and said the group included two men who had previously been sentenced to death. Inside Story – Has Egypt’s Sisi failed on security? In […]
CAIRO (AP) — The latest news on the near-simultaneous militant attacks in Egypt’s restive northern Sinai Peninsula that have killed at least 30 soldiers (all times local): 11:30 a.m. Egyptian security and military officials say a heavy battle is taking place in the northern Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid, where militants are besieging the town’s main police station. The fighting is part of a wave of coordinated militant attacks launched on Wednesday morning in restive Sinai, just two days after the country’s state prosecutor was assassinated in Cairo. The officials say that as part of the attacks, a suicide car bombing destroyed one military checkpoint while another was first hit by mortar shells and rocket propelled grenades, then assaulted by militants. — 10:35 a.m. Egypt’s military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Samir, says fighting is still underway in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, where militants unleashed a wave of attacks […]
CAIRO — A powerful roadside bomb killed Egypt ’s top prosecutor as he drove to work Monday morning, broadening the violent insurgency that militants have been waging against the government for two years. The prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, was the most senior civilian official to be killed in Egypt since the insurgency began in the fall of 2013, after the military ousted the country’s first freely elected president , Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood . The explosion hit Mr. Barakat’s small convoy around 10:30 a.m. Monday as it left the Heliopolis neighborhood near Cairo International Airport. The blast set several cars on fire and shattered windows along the street, injuring at least eight other people. Mr. Barakat sustained a lacerated liver and was rushed to a hospital, where he died from internal bleeding, according to the health ministry. The daylight assassination of one of his top officials was a […]
CAIRO — Egypt aims to reduce its surging fertility rate over the next 15 years, a government minister said Tuesday, in an effort to address overpopulation concerns in the Arab world’s most populous country. With around 90 million people — a population the United Nations projects to hit 103 million by 2030 — Egypt has struggled for decades to provide its citizens with jobs and services. Most Egyptians live on a tiny sliver of land along the Nile River and the Mediterranean coast, away from the vast desert that makes up most of the country. According to a plan laid out by Minister of State for Population Hala Youssef, the government will provide financial incentives to keep children in school, expand family planning services and boost public awareness — while working closely with non-governmental organizations and local communities. The aim is to get Egyptian women to attain a fertility […]
Cairo — The petroleum sector is currently implementing projects worth $9.4 billion, in addition to projects that have been completed, Egypt’s petroleum minister said on Monday. The ministry is seeking to complete projects with an investment value of $3.8 billion before the end of this year, Minister Sherif Ismail said in a statement. These include a major project to produce ethylene and its derivatives. The plant will be based in Alexandria city on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast and production is due to start before the end of 2015. This is said to be the largest petrochemical project in the country. Petrochemical projects are currently a top priority in the ministry’s strategy, the minister said, describing petrochemical projects as a "fundamental pillar" to maximising the value of petroleum wealth. Copyright © 2015 Aswat Masriya. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media ( allAfrica.com ). To contact the copyright holder directly […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]
