Palestinian authority plans to develop Gaza gas field

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) plans to develop a natural gas field off the Gaza Strip coast at a cost of 1 billion US dollars, a PNA minister said on Monday.

Mohamed Mustafa, minister of economy, said in an emailed press statement that British Gas Co. and the Palestinian unity government will work together on developing the gas field.

A large field of natural gas was discovered in early 2000 off the coast of the Gaza Strip by British Gas. A deal was signed between the company and the PNA to produce gas and help the PNA improve its finances.

Mustafa, also deputy prime minister of the Palestinian unity government, stated that the project needs international political guarantees to make Israel committed to the agreement.

The gas field aims to generate power and serve industry to create new financial resources, said Mustafa.

Since its establishment in 1994, the PNA has been financially depending on international donations and the tax revenue dues Israel collects on its behalf and pays them back to its budget.

However, the PNA has been going through a crucial financial crisis after Israel withheld the tax revenue dues to punish the Palestinians after they decided to join 20 international treaties and agencies, including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Mustafa said annual cost for energy import had reached 2 billion dollars and that "such a huge budget exhausts the Palestinian economy and that generating energy would save lots of money."
  Source:Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
24/2/15
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Egypt 'doesn't mind' Israeli gas

A week after Reuters broke the news of talks between the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and the American Noble Energy Company, which operates Israeli gas fields, the Ministry of Petroleum appears to publicly support a new policy that would allow the importation of Israeli gas.

In 1979, Egypt became the first Arab country to sign a peace agreement with Israel. Despite full diplomatic relations, official niceties and, many years later, US-encouraged commercial and business agreements between the two former enemies, normalisation with Israel remained taboo and was rejected by the wider public.
So when former president Hosni Mubarak approved a 20-year agreement to export Egyptian gas to Israel in 2005 it caused a political uproar that continued until his ouster in February 2011.

Not only was Egypt pumping natural gas directly to Israel, it was doing so at below-market prices through East Mediterranean Gas (EMG), then co-owned by Mubarak 's friend Hussein Salem and former Israeli Mossad agent Yossi Maiman, who then sold the gas to Israel at higher rates, pocketing the difference.

In the aftermath of the uprising that toppled Mubarak in 2011, Egypt unilaterally terminated this agreement, citing failures by the Israeli side to meet payment deadlines in violation of the contract.

The decision was met with relief and a sense of revolutionary achievement, but things did not end there. When Mubarak was referred for trial in 2011, the gas deal was added to the corruption charges (a Cairo court dismissed the charges three months ago because the charges were too old to fall within its jurisdiction.)

More than four years later, Egyptian officials are negotiating a reversal of the gas deal through the very same pipeline that exported the gas to Israel, according to Reuters and official statements attributed to top-level officials in the ministry of petroleum......................http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/122969.aspx
13/2/15
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Related:

• Egypt advances plans to import Israeli gas 

• Israel's Tamar gas field to sell gas to Egypt 

• Israel signs 15-year natural gas deal with Jordan 

• Egypt says not interested in Israeli gas as plans LNG imports...

• Cyprus to build gas plant with or without Israel.....

• Israel, Jordan, Palestinians to sign Red Sea-Dead Sea deal

 ---

• CNN: Η Κύπρος δεν μπορεί να υποστηρίξει τερματικό. -Θα ήταν βιώσιμο αν η Κύπρος προχωρούσε σε συμφωνία με το Ισραήλ

EU failed to discuss Russia’s gas turn to Turkey in place of South Stream (Juncker)

Russia’s decision to scrap its South Stream gas pipeline project and the subsequent move to extend a new gas route to Turkey instead was raised at an extraordinary summit of the European Union on Thursday night, Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, said.

Juncker said, however, that although the issue of the Russian natural gas deliveries via the abandoned South Stream pipeline project was raised at the summit, the participants failed to discuss subject.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on December 1, 2014 that the project to build the South Stream gas pipeline was closed due to the European Union’s unconstructive approach to cooperation in that sphere, including Bulgaria’s decision to stop the construction of the pipeline’s stretch on its territory.

Instead, Russia will build a gas pipeline to Turkey where a gas hub on the border with Europe will be created, Putin said.................http://tass.ru/en/economy/777375
13/2/15
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Related:

• EC hopes to return to talks with Russia concerning South Stream counterpart projects

• Bulgaria Still Hopeful of South Stream Pipeline

• Plewneliew: Bulgarien hat immer noch Hoffnung auf „South Stream“...

• Russia’s new gas pipeline to Turkey may be named Turkish Stream 

• Bulgarian PM proposes creating gas hub on border with Turkey

• Bulgaria to send delegation to Moscow to discuss South Stream (reports)

• South Stream pipeline can be built (European Commission)

EC hopes to return to talks with Russia concerning South Stream counterpart projects

The European Commission hopes to return to talks with Russia on the South Stream counterpart projects and regards the Turkish Stream gas pipeline construction unfeasible, the EC energy commissioner Maros Sefcovic said...

"A first assessment is that this would not work," Sefcovic added. He does not think this is a final decision and believes the return to more rational discussion of gas supply routes is possible.

Sefkovic expressed confidence negotiations with Gazprom and Russia on gas supplies to Europe will continue and it is too early to speak about the final decision.

Full transparency of intergovernmental agreements and commercial contracts on gas supplies is needed, the energy commissioner added.

Ukraine will receive assistance of the EU and international institutions for the upgrade of its obsolete gas transportation system to secure stable gas supplies to Europe through its territory, Sefcovic said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on December 1, 2015 during his visit to Ankara that Moscow was dropping plans to build the South Stream pipeline. Instead, Mr. Putin said Russia would pursue an alternative transit route to Turkey in addition to the Blue Stream pipeline and set up a gas hub on the border between Turkey and Greece.

Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said later the Turkish Stream will be the only route for future supplies of 63 bln cubic meters of the Russian gas currently flowing through Ukraine.
   http://itar-tass.com/en/economy/775433
4/2/15
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Related:

• Bulgaria Still Hopeful of South Stream Pipeline

• Plewneliew: Bulgarien hat immer noch Hoffnung auf „South Stream“...

• Russia’s new gas pipeline to Turkey may be named Turkish Stream 

• Bulgarian PM proposes creating gas hub on border with Turkey

• Bulgaria to send delegation to Moscow to discuss South Stream (reports)

• South Stream pipeline can be built (European Commission)

Egypt advances plans to import Israeli gas

CAIRO - A delegation from American oil firm Noble Energy is in Egypt for talks with the state gas company about importing Israeli gas to energy-starved Egypt, sources at the airport and the oil ministry said on Sunday.

Gas shipments could come from Israel's offshore Tamar gas field, which Noble operates, and whose partners have floated plans to connect the field with Egypt's Damietta LNG plant.

Israel's Delek Drilling, one of the partners in the field, said in November that if an agreement is signed, gas supplies to Egypt could start flowing in 2017.

Egypt has signed several deals in past months to import natural gas, which powers most of its homes and factories, but imports from Israel are potentially more sensitive because of the countries' rocky history.

The oil ministry source said Sunday's talks concerned the technical procedures for bringing natural gas from Israeli fields into Egypt.

"Negotiations are under way about the amount of gas that can be imported," the source said.

Another source at Cairo's airport earlier in the day said that a delegation came for several hours from Israel to discuss gas shipments.

Egypt's oil minister said two weeks ago that the country was open to Israeli imports.

Egypt became the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, following three decades of intermittent conflict since Israel's creation in 1948.

While many Egyptians still view Israel with suspicion, relations have improved since the army toppled President Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist, in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.

The two countries also have a shared interest in containing Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and maintaining stability in the Sinai Peninsula where security has deteriorated since Morsi's ouster.

• Egypt, which once exported gas to Israel and elsewhere, is going through its worst energy crisis in decades, with rising consumption and declining production turning it into an energy importer.

• The government has tried to improve the energy landscape by slashing subsidies, paying down its debt to foreign energy firms, and negotiating import agreements.

After finalizing a long-delayed deal for an LNG import terminal, it has reached agreements to receive gas from Algeria, and is in talks with Russia and Cyprus for gas shipments. 
 http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Egypt-advances-plans-to-import-Israeli-gas-389661
1/2/15
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• Israel's Tamar gas field to sell gas to Egypt 

• Israel signs 15-year natural gas deal with Jordan 

• Egypt says not interested in Israeli gas as plans LNG imports...

• Cyprus to build gas plant with or without Israel.....

• Israel, Jordan, Palestinians to sign Red Sea-Dead Sea deal

 ---

• CNN: Η Κύπρος δεν μπορεί να υποστηρίξει τερματικό. -Θα ήταν βιώσιμο αν η Κύπρος προχωρούσε σε συμφωνία με το Ισραήλ

US Lawmakers Urge Obama to Recall Plans for Offshore Drilling

The United States should recall its plan to conduct offshore drilling which might threaten the state of New Jersey environment and economy, US Senators Robert Menendez and Cory Booker, and Congressman Frank Pallone said in a letter to US President Barack Obama.

“The plan’s proposal for oil production in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia would put New Jersey’s economy and shore communities at significant risk,” Menendez, Booker and Pallone said Friday. “We strongly urge you [President Obama] to consider removing all Atlantic planning areas prior to the issuance of the next draft of the Five-Year Plan.”

Lawmakers are concerned that in case of a drilling accident the state will see consequences similar to those after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, which caused long term marine and coastal damage, according to the letter.

Menendez, Booker and Pallone urged the White House to consider offshore energy production on wind power.

“In our home state of New Jersey, and for shore towns up and down the Atlantic coast, offshore oil drilling would present a risk to communities and businesses that depend on a clean and thriving coastline,” lawmakers said.

This week President Obama’s administration released a five-year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program which may lead to the United States drilling for gas and oil in portions of the Atlantic Ocean, as well as opening new sections of the Gulf of Mexico for exploration.
 http://sputniknews.com/us/20150131/1017577632.html#ixzz3QOQA2NPL
 31/1/15
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Ukraine’s Naftogaz sues Gazprom for $6 billion in Stockholm arbitration (Gazprom’s report)

The Ukrainian national energy company Naftogaz is claiming $3.2 billion compensation from Gazprom in a lawsuit filed with the Stockholm Arbitration Tribunal for lower gas transit via Ukraine and related interest, according to a report released by Gazprom on Thursday...
Naftogaz’s total claim together with interest amounts to $6.2 billion, the Russian gas giant said in its financial statements for the first nine months of 2014.

The Stockholm Arbitration Tribunal will hold oral hearings on mutual claims filed by Gazprom and Ukraine’s national energy company Naftogaz not earlier than in February-March 2016, the Russian gas giant said in its IFRS financial statements released on Thursday.

Naftogaz filed a claim with the Stockholm Arbitration Tribunal on October 13, 2014, seeking to "oblige Gazprom to pay a compensation of $3,200 million (and related interest) to Naftogaz Ukraine for the failure to provide gas for transit," the Russian gas giant’s financial statements said.

Naftogaz also seeks to acknowledge that the transit tariff stipulated in the gas contract with Gazprom "should be revised in such a way as provided in further written statements of Naftogaz Ukraine in line with key principles of the Swedish contractual law," the report said.

Russia’s gas transit to Europe via Ukraine totaled 58.9 billion cubic meters in 2014 compared with 83.9 billion cubic meters in 2013 and 92.2 billion cubic meters in 2009....................http://itar-tass.com/en/economy/77407729/1/15
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Related:

• Russian gas deliveries to Ukraine and EU uninterrupted (Ukraine's Naftogaz)

• No Reason to Revise Gas Deal With Ukraine in April (Alexander Novak, Russian EM)

• Ukraine files lawsuit contest Russian gas pricing

• Stockholm arbitration court combines Naftogaz, Gazprom lawsuits

Russia’s Gazprom cancels plans to expand Nord Stream (Sources)

Russia’s Gazprom has cancelled a plan to build two more branches of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline because of the “complicated” political situation, sources at the state-controlled firm said Jan 28...

“The political situation is currently complicated. We were not allowed access to OPAL (gas pipeline in Germany). Why build two more arms? We are not building them,” one source told Reuters.

Gazprom said last year it could increase the pipeline that runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany with a line that would go to Britain, but a second source confirmed Gazprom currently had no plans to extend the pipeline to Britain.

Nord Stream consists of two pipes with an annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters, enough to supply around 10 percent of the European Union’s annual gas needs.

The construction of two more pipes would have doubled Nord Stream capacity.

• Currently Nord Stream is running at around half its capacity because Gazprom is allowed only limited access to the Opal pipeline which runs through Germany to the Czech Republic and connects to Nord Stream.

The Russian company has so far failed to secure greater access, with talks complicated by tensions between the EU and Russia over the Ukraine crisis. In November, the EU pushed back a deadline for deciding on Russian access to Opal until the end of January.

Last year, Russia also scrapped its South Stream pipeline project over disagreements with the EU.

Instead, Gazprom said it planned to build a pipeline across the Black Sea towards Turkey, bypassing Ukraine as a transit route to Europe.

Gazprom was not available for immediate comment. 
 http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/russias-gazprom-cancels-plans-to-expand-nord-stream-sources.aspx?pageID=238&nID=77584&NewsCatID=348
28/1/15
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Related:

• European Commission postpones decision on OPAL pipeline until October 31

• Gazprom Vows to Use Alternative Routes if Ukraine Starts Tapping Transit Gas

• «Όχι» της Εσθονίας σε Αίτημα για Επέκταση του Αγωγού Nord Stream

 

 

 

Russia to lift discount for shipments of natural gas to Ukraine

The discount of $100 on the purchase of one thousand cubic meters of Russian natural gas that Russia provided to Ukraine as part of the "winter package" will be lifted from April 1, 2015, the head of Gazprom, Alexei Miller said at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

The conditions of the winter package will remain in effect till the end of March, and from April 1, the discount that was provided by the Government of the Russian Federation, will cease to have effect. From April 1, gas supplies to Ukraine will be carried out strictly in accordance with the contract," said Miller.

In accordance with the winter plan, the price of Russian gas for Ukraine in November-December made up 378 dollars (given the discount to the contract price of $100 per thousand cubic meters).
 http://english.pravda.ru/news/russia/20-01-2015/129561-russia_gas_ukraine-0/#.VL6NXCwYE9Q
20/1/15
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Related:

• Russian gas deliveries to Ukraine and EU uninterrupted (Ukraine's Naftogaz)

• No Reason to Revise Gas Deal With Ukraine in April (Alexander Novak, Russian EM)

• Ukraine’s Naftogaz transfers $1.65 bln to Russia’s Gazprom under Brussels agreements

• Question of gas supplies from Russia to be settled soon (Ukrainian energy minister)

• EU to Continue Financial Aid Provision for Ukraine's Gas Debt Repayment (Official)

Russian gas deliveries to Ukraine and EU uninterrupted (Ukraine's Naftogaz)

Russia is supplying gas to Ukraine and the EU according to plan, Ukraine's Naftogaz said on Monday.
"The information circulating in the media that Russian gas has stopped going to the EU through Ukraine dates back to 2009 and has nothing to do with the current situation. As of 2015, there were no breaks in Russian gas deliveries to the Ukraine GTS," the statement said.

The CEO of Russia's Gazprom gas giant said in mid-January that risks persist for gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine as the latter falied to import the necessary ammounts of natural gas in November and December due to financial difficulties.

Earlier reports said Ukraine imported 572.2 million cubic meters of Russian gas in the first two weeks of January. Besides direct supplies from Russia, Ukraine gets reverse gas supplies from Slovakia and Hungary.................http://itar-tass.com/en/economy/77188319/1/15
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Related:

• No Reason to Revise Gas Deal With Ukraine in April (Alexander Novak, Russian EM)

• Gas contracts with EU provide for no gas re-export options (Alexander Novak, Russian EM)

Bulgarian PM proposes creating gas hub on border with Turkey

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said on Thursday at a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry that he favored the idea of creating a gas hub on the border with Turkey.
“An intersystem gas pipeline with Greece should be built using European money.

Besides, I acquainted our partners with our joint idea with the European Commission to build a gas hub on the Turkish border, if the project (for the construction of a gas pipeline between Russia and Turkey) is really implemented,” Borisov said.
  The Bulgarian premier also confirmed a ban on shale gas extraction in Bulgaria using the hydraulic fracturing method.  “We have stated on numerous occasions that unless a technology is found to guarantee the absence of environmental problems in the most fertile part of Bulgaria, we’ll keep the moratorium on shale gas extraction. Our position is clear and understandable to our partners,” the Bulgarian premier said.
Gazprom head Alexey Miller said on Wednesday that EU countries should hurry up with the construction of infrastructure to receive Russian natural gas from the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project. “They have a maximum of several years for this. This is a very tight schedule. To comply with it, work for the construction of new trunk gas pipelines should be started in EU countries right now. Otherwise, these gas volumes may be redirected to other markets,” the Gazprom head said.
The Turkish Stream gas pipeline project is the sole route for Russia’s future supplies of 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe currently delivered via Ukraine, Miller said.
The Gazprom head made this statement in response to a question about the fate of Russia’s South Stream gas pipeline project.
“The project is closed. The Turkish Stream is the sole route, which can deliver 63 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas transited across Ukraine so far. There are no other options,” Miller said.

• Gazprom has notified its European partners about its Turkish Stream gas pipe plans and now their task is to create the necessary gas transport infrastructure from the border of Turkey and Greece, the Gazprom head said.

  http://itar-tass.com/en/economy/771414
  15/1/15 
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Related:

• Russia’s new gas pipeline to Turkey may be named Turkish Stream

• Le Parlement européen a adopté jeudi une résolution dans laquelle il a salué l'annulation du projet gazier South Stream....

• Gazprom: Kein Gas mehr durch die Ukraine ...

• Rusia enviará todo el gas que pasa por Ucrania a Europa a través del nuevo gasoducto turco ....

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• Bulgaria to send delegation to Moscow to discuss South Stream (reports)

• Gas pipeline to Crimea to be connected to projected gas pipeline to Turkey

US sets goal to cut methane emissions by oil, gas industry

The US government on Wednesday announced a new goal to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40 to 45 percent from 2012 levels by 2025, as part of its efforts to fight climate change.

"Today's actions on methane emissions are an important step to take on climate change, putting us on track to achieve President ( Barack) Obama's goal of cutting net greenhouse gas emissions 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025," the White House said in a statement. "Achieving this goal would save up to 180 billion cubic feet of wasted natural gas in 2025 -- enough to heat more than 2 million homes for an entire year."

To meet that goal, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will issue a proposal to set standards for methane emissions from new and modified oil and gas production sources this summer, while the Interior Department will update its standards to reduce methane leaks from wells on public lands, the White House said.

In addition, the Department of Energy will get 25 million US dollars in funding to develop and demonstrate technologies to identify and reduce natural gas leaks.

Methane, a major component of natural gas, accounted for nearly 10 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions in 2012, of which nearly 30 percent came from oil production and the production, processing, transmission and distribution of natural gas, said a statement from the EPA.

While methane emissions from the oil and gas industry have declined 16 percent since 1990, they are projected to increase by about 25 percent over the next decade if no additional steps are taken, the EPA said.

The United States is now the largest natural gas producer in the world, and its oil production is at the highest level in nearly 30 years, according to the EPA.
   Source: Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
15/1/15
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No Reason to Revise Gas Deal With Ukraine in April (Alexander Novak, Russian EM)

Russia sees no reason to reach a new agreement on gas deliveries to Ukraine after the so-called 'winter package' deal expires at the end of March, as all the terms are already outlined in the existing contract between Gazprom and Naftogaz, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Wednesday.

"We are talking about current deliveries schedule and the financing regime, in other words — about conditions that have been, in one way or another, stipulated in the existing contract [betwen Rusia's Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz]," Novak said following talks Maros Sefcovic, the Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of the Energy Union.

"So far, we see no reason to sign a new document," Novak said.
[sputniknews.com]
14/1/15
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Related:

• Gazprom concerned over Ukraine’s possible siphoning off of Russian gas

• Vicepresidente de la Comisión Europea no prevé cortes de tránsito de gas ruso a Europa ...

• Gas contracts with EU provide for no gas re-export options (Alexander Novak, Russian EM) 

• Question of gas supplies from Russia to be settled soon (Ukrainian energy minister)

• Kiev Agrees With IMF to Pay for Russian Gas During Winter Period From Own Exchange Reserve

Gazprom concerned over Ukraine’s possible siphoning off of Russian gas

The possibility of siphoning off of Russian natural gas by Ukraine has increased with the onset of cold weather, CEO of Russia’s natural gas giant Gazprom Aleksei Miller was quoted by Rossiya 1 TV channel as saying on Monday. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has received the Gazprom head.

The Russian premier said that Moscow wants to deal with Ukraine as a reliable partner.

“But what you say makes one think of the developments and the way gas consumption takes place in Ukraine,” Medvedev said. According to him, prompt decisions must be made depending on the situation with gas consumption volume, if necessary, and in accordance with the made decision on the price discount Russia offered to Ukraine for the coming period - until March 31, 2015.
[itar-tass.com]
5/1/15
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Related:

• L'amministratore delegato di Gazprom Alexey Miller ha dichiarato che con l'inizio della stagione fredda aumenta il rischio di prelievi di gas russo non autorizzati da parte dell'Ucraina...

• Ukraine’s Naftogaz transfers $1.65 bln to Russia’s Gazprom under Brussels agreements

Cypriot EEZ: Cyprus warns Turkey against any new energy moves

Cyprus warned Turkey Friday that if it re-entered the exclusive economic zone where Nicosia has licensed exploratory drilling there would be no chance of resuming stalled UN-brokered peace talks.
Government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said any such a move would be a "worrying development" and would only "validate the reason for not returning to the talks".

Last October, a Turkish ship encroached on Cyprus's EEZ off its south coast, after Ankara had given notice that a Turkish seismic vessel would carry out a survey in the same area where Italian-Korean energy consortium ENI-Kogas is operating.

In response, Cyprus suspended its participation in UN-led peace talks launched in February.

Warning against another incident, Christodoulides told the Cyprus News Agency on Friday: "While knowing such an action would not allow for talks to resume, it will unfortunately send the international community a negative message regarding the possibility of a resumption of talks."

Turkish Cypriot media reports say that Turkey is ready to issue a new maritime notice for its survey ship Barbaros from January 5.

Nicosia is unhappy that Ankara is determined to search for oil and gas in the same region where it has already licensed exploratory drillings.

Turkey opposes the government's exploitation of offshore energy reserves before a deal is reached to solve the decades-long division of the east Mediterranean island.

Turkish troops invaded and occupied the northern third of Cyprus in 1974 in response to an Athens-engineered coup aimed at uniting it with Greece.

ENI-Kogas began drilling off Cyprus for possible gas in September in a second block to undergo exploratory tests.

It found no evidence of gas reserves in its first test drill and is preparing to try again over the next three months.

In 2011, US firm Noble Energy made the first find in the Aphrodite field, which is estimated to contain 102 billion to 170 billion cubic metres (3.6 trillion to six trillion cubic feet) of gas.
  AFP - http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/119338.aspx
  2/1/15
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• Νταβούτογλου: «Ισα δικαιώματα για το αέριο στους Τουρκοκύπριους εδώ και τώρα»

• Κύπρος: Προχωρούν κανονικά οι γεωτρήσεις της ENI - KOGAS

Ukraine’s Naftogaz transfers $1.65 bln to Russia’s Gazprom under Brussels agreements

Ukraine’s Naftogaz has transferred 1.65 billion U.S. dollars to Russia’s Gazprom as repayment its gas debts, Naftogaz said on Wednesday.

Thus, in line with the agreements reached in Brussels, Naftogaz has paid 3.1 billion U.S. dollars in two tranches to pay for 11.5 billion cubic metres of gas supplied by Gazprom in November-December 2013 and April-June 2014. The first tranche of 1.45 billion U.S. dollars was transferred on November 4.

In October, Gazprom and Naftogaz reached an agreement to resume Russian gas supplies to Ukraine on condition Naftogaz repays its 3.1 billion U.S. dollar debt. In early December, Naftogaz made an advance payment for gas supplies in December.
[itar-tass.com]
24/12/14
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Related:

• Russia to Halt Gas Sales to Ukraine if Kiev Fails to Repay $1.65Bln

• Question of gas supplies from Russia to be settled soon (Ukrainian energy minister)

• EU to Continue Financial Aid Provision for Ukraine's Gas Debt Repayment (Official)

• Kiev Agrees With IMF to Pay for Russian Gas During Winter Period From Own Exchange Reserve

Russia to Halt Gas Sales to Ukraine if Kiev Fails to Repay $1.65Bln

Russia will stop gas sales to Ukraine if Kiev fails to repay $1.65 billion of its gas debt to Russia, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Tuesday.

"Under the agreement, there will be no supplies in January if the debt of $1.65 billion remains unsettled," the minister said.

Novak said the price of Russian gas for Ukraine is estimated to range between $340 and $360 per 1,000 cubic meters in the first quarter of 2015.

"Our [previous] discussions in the month of October were based on price forecast of $360. At the moment, the price may be lower… I think, [it will be at] $340-$360," he said.

The Minister said that after the discount of $100 per 1,000 cubic meters, granted by Russia's Gazprom to Ukraine's Naftogaz, expires on April 1, the price of Russian gas to Ukraine will amount to about $440. According to Novak, Moscow is ready to consider a request for a new discount, but so far Ukrainian authorities have not asked for it.

After a six-month break, Russia resumed gas sales to Ukraine on December 9. A temporary agreement between Moscow and Kiev, in force during the cold season, stipulates that Ukraine should repay $3.1 billion of its $5.3-billion gas debt.

Ukraine's state-run oil and gas company Naftogaz repaid $1.45 billion of its gas debt to Gazprom in early December and allocated $378 million as prepayment for future supplies of 1 billion cubic meters of gas.

On Monday Ukrainian Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchishin told journalists that Ukraine so far has purchased some 300 million cubic meters of Russian gas under the so-called "winter package."

On the same day in an interview on Rossiya-24 television Novak expressed hope that Russia and Ukraine will continue their cooperation in gas deliveries even after the ten-year contract on gas transit and supply between Gazprom and Naftogaz expires in 2019.
 [sputniknews.com]
23/12/14
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Related:

•  Gashandel: Kiew zögert mit Schuldentilgung – Moskau droht Lieferstopp an ...

• Si Ucrania no paga la deuda de gas de diciembre, Rusia cesará los suministros ... 

------

• Question of gas supplies from Russia to be settled soon (Ukrainian energy minister)

• EU to Continue Financial Aid Provision for Ukraine's Gas Debt Repayment (Official)

• Kiev Agrees With IMF to Pay for Russian Gas During Winter Period From Own Exchange Reserve

Russia’s new gas pipeline to Turkey may be named Turkish Stream

Russia’s new natural gas pipeline, which energy giant Gazprom will built in place of the South Stream pipeline, might be called the Turkish Stream, Gazprom deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev said on Monday.

“The South Stream pipeline will not be constructed and we will be implementing another project, which will get its name in the nearest future,” Medvedev said. “Our partners in Turkey proposed the name of the Turkish Stream.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on December 1 that Russia was abandoning its South Stream gas pipeline project in Europe over the European Commission’s unconstructive approach and instead was planning to build a gas pipeline to Turkey.

Gazprom will build a gas hub on the Turkey-Greece border under a new 63 billion cubic meter pipeline project. Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said the construction of a gas pipeline to Turkey will make it possible to reduce the risks linked with natural gas transit through Ukraine. Russia’s steel pipe manufacturers hope that all their products originally meant for the South Stream project will be redirected to the new gas pipeline project.......................http://itar-tass.com/en/world/768439
  22/12/14
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Related:

• Bulgaria to send delegation to Moscow to discuss South Stream (reports)

• Gas pipeline to Crimea to be connected to projected gas pipeline to Turkey

• South Stream pipeline can be built (European Commission)

• Türkei geht auf Distanz zu Gas-Deal mit Russland...

Bulgaria to send delegation to Moscow to discuss South Stream (reports)

Bulgaria’s Cabinet plans to send a government delegation to Moscow on December 19 to discuss the prospect of reviving the South Stream gas pipeline project, Russian and Bulgarian media quoted Economy Minister Bozhidar Loukarski as saying in Belgrade on December 16, following meetings with Serbian officials.
“Bulgaria never intended to give up on the South Stream project and would like to hear the official position of the Russian Energy minister on it,” he is quoted as saying. He also said that the pipeline could be brought in line with the EU regulations, although it remains unclear to what extent Russia is willing to do so, given that EU rules were one of the main obstacles cited by Russian president Vladimir Putin when he announced the project’s cancellation in Ankara on December 1.

It is unclear, also, whether Russia has agreed on holding such a meeting, with Russian news agency Itar-Tass reporting on December 17, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation, that Russian energy minister Alexander Novak was still deliberating on the issue of a meeting..........http://sofiaglobe.com/2014/12/17/bulgaria-to-send-delegation-to-moscow-to-discuss-south-stream-reports/
17/12/14
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Related:

• Bulgaria ready to place gas hub for European consumers

• South Stream pipeline can be built (European Commission)

• Gazprom gründet Firma für Bau neuer Gaspipeline in Türkei ...

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Romania discovers biggest oil gas deposit in 30 years

Romania discovered a new deposit of crude oil and natural gas, which may be the biggest discovery of its kind in the past 30 years in the south, a Romanian oil company announced Wednesday.

According to OMV Petrom, a subsidiary of the Austrian group OMV, the deposit was discovered at a depth of 2,500 meters in the south of Buzau County.

The estimates obtained from the production tests indicate a potential production per well of 1,200-2,100 boe per day.

The discovery has been made under the onshore exploration partnership signed in 2010 by OMV Petrom and Hunt Oil Company of Romania, the company said, adding that the exploration investment led to this discovery amounts to 5 million euros (6.25 million US dollars).

OMV Petrom is the largest producer of oil and gas in southeastern Europe, with an annual production of crude oil and natural gas of 66 million boe.
 Sources: Xinhua- globaltimes.cn
17/12/14
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• New oil and gas field discovered in Buzău County. Probably the largest in the last 30 years in Muntenia ...

OMV Petrom in partnership with Hunt Oil Romania found a new oil and gas field in the south of Buzău County. According to a press release, the field was discovered in Perimeter VIII Urziceni Est by drilling the exploration well Padina Nord 1, at a depth of over 2,500 meters at approx. 7 – 12 km away from mature fields, in production for more than 50 years. Estimates from production tests indicate a potential production per well of 1,200 – 2,100 boe per day from two geological layers. The exploration investments that led to this discovery by OMV Petrom and Hunt Oil amount to EUR 5 million.

“It is potentially the largest discovery in the past 30 years, in the Muntenia region. This year, we have made the largest exploration investments since privatization. It is important to continue exploration activities, as 90 percent of fields we are operating are mature ones and reached their production peak years ago. Currently, we supply about 40 percent of Romania’s oil and gas demand”, said Gabriel Selischi, member of OMV Petrom Executive Board, responsible for Exploration and Production.

In the coming period, the two companies will continue testing operations to determine the production potential of the discovery and will be acquiring seismic data in the region to build on this early success. The discovery was made within the onshore exploration partnership closed in 2010 by OMV Petrom and Hunt Oil. The partnership targets the exploration of two onshore perimeters: I Adjud and VIII Urziceni Est, the operator being Hunt Oil.
http://www.romaniajournal.ro/new-oil-and-gas-field-in-buzau-county-probably-the-largest-in-the-last-30-years-in-muntenia/
17/12/14