Egypt has raised the prices it pays Eni and Edison for the natural gas they produce in the country, an official with state-owned gas company EGAS said on Sunday. The agreements mark the latest move by Egyptian authorities to improve terms for foreign oil and gas businesses in the hope that more competitive pricing will encourage investment in the energy-hungry country.
PR Energy has signed a year-long, $30million contract to provide a gas turbine power plant in Egypt.
Egypt aims to pay its $3.1 billion debt to international oil and gas companies a year later than previously indicated, according to the Egyptian oil ministry. The ministry said: "All current operational payments hae been made on time and are on track to repay any remaining arrears before mid-2016." It is expected that the debt will be repaid by the middle of 2016, a year ahead of the previously indicated mid-2015.
Italian company Eni has made a new oil and gas discovery in Egypt. The company said the exploration well, located in the Melehia licence, was drilled to a depth of 4,175metres. It met a 20metre net mineralized accumulation of light oil in the Lower Cretaceous age of the Alam El Bueib formation.
Italian oil and gas company Eni has signed contracts for two exploration blocks off the coast of Egypt. The deals follow the result of the EGAS 2013 bid round and will see work carried out on the North Leil and Karawan blocks in the deep waters of the Mediterranean.
Eni has signed a new concession agreement to operate in the South West Melehia block in the Western Desert of Egypt. It follows the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation’s (EGPC) 2013 international competitive bid round. The company said the new acquisition adds to the list of exploration successes achieved in the area over the past two years.
Circle Oil has been given receipt of $15million as part of recent special payment distribution by the Egyptian Government. The company said the move had resulted in a significant reduction in the outstanding debt owed to the company.
SacOil Holdings has started the first phase of its field development operations at its Lagia oil field in Sinai. The company has contracted Schlumberger through its subsidiary Mena International Petroleum Egypt to conduct the initial phase of development. It includes the hydraulic stimulation of the Lagia 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 wells specifically targeting the intersected productive productive Nukhul geological formation.
Oil and gas exploration firm BG Group received a boost today as it revealed the Egyptian government had paid it £225 million as the state seeks to repay outstanding debts to the energy industry. The group also said it was “working with the government on resolving the outstanding receivable balance” of £592 million. It comes after a year in which Reading-based BG has been dragged down by problems in Egypt as well as the tumbling oil price, and been hit by controversy over pay plans for its new chief executive.
BP Egypt and its partners plan to invest $240million in a pair of blocks just awarded as a result of the 2013 EGAS (Egyptian Natural Gas Holding) round. The oil major said the programme will include 3D seismic and three exploration wells in each of the onshore and offshore blocks in phases lasting between six to eight years. The first block, the North El Mataria, is BP’s first entry into the Onshore Nile Delta.
Oil and Gas firm BG Group has received a $350 million repayment of outstanding debts from the Egyptian government. The payment was a result of the country’s government raising funds specifically to help repay debts to the oil and gas sector.