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Eni’s Meleiha discoveries

seen yielding 8,500 boepd

Italy’s Eni has made oil and gas discoveries in the
Meleiha concessions in Egypt’s western desert
with a total flow of 8,500 barrels of oil equiva- Russian oil after the invasion of Ukraine. and regulate the domestic market.
lent per day (boepd), the company said in a press The fuel committee convenes on a quarterly The council’s mission is to draw up the strat-
release. These new discoveries are a product of basis to assess the prices of petroleum prod- egies to be followed with regard to the country’s
the near-field strategy agreed upon with its long- ucts and amend them in accordance with the energy security, especially the preservation,
term partner Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. international price of Brent crude oil and the renewal and development of hydrocarbon
(EGPC), the national oil champion, that aims exchange-rate of the Egyptian pound to the reserves.
to maximise production by minimising time dollar. Interestingly, however, the committee The tasks of the council also include moni-
to market through the targeting of exploration did not factor the recent 17% devaluation of the toring and evaluating the implementation of
opportunities close to existing infrastructures. Egyptian pound into its pricing decision for the long-term plans to develop the base structures
Among newly connected wells to existing current quarter. for the production, transportation, supply, stor-
infrastructure are the Nada E Deep 1X well, bna/IntelliNews, April 18 2022 age and distribution of energy materials, and the
which encountered 60 metres of net hydrocar- creation and development of new and renewable
bon pay in the Cretaceous-Jurassic Alam El Egypt, Algeria to benefit energies, while ensuring the necessary mineral
Bueib and Khatatba formations and the Meleiha resources for their development.
SE Deep 1X well, which found 30m of net hydro- from EU bid to reduce The council is expected to implement the
carbon pay in the Cretaceous-Jurassic sands of energy transition towards a new national model
the Matruh & Khatatba formations, as well as reliance on Russian gas, for energy production and consumption. Alge-
the Emry Deep 21 well, which encountered 35 ria aims to reach a level of renewables-based
metres of net hydrocarbon pay in the massive says Capital Economics installed electricity generation capacity of 15,000
cretaceous sandstones of Alam El Bueib. MW by 2035. A new law on energy transition is
These wells are in addition to discoveries Capital Economics, an economic consultancy, being prepared.
made in 2021 for a total of eight exploration wells has singled out Egypt and Algeria as beneficiar- Moreover, the council will be responsible for
that yielded a 75% success rate, confirming the ies of the EU’s attempt to reduce its dependence creating and managing strategic alliances and
potential of the Meleiha concessions, the com- on Russian gas in the aftermath of its invasion international partnerships in the energy field,
pany said. of Ukraine. especially long-term and strategic trade agree-
bna/IntelliNews, April 15 2022 The consultancy asserts that Egypt probably ments and commitments.
stands to benefit more from this shift than Alge- bna/IntelliNews, April 20 2022
ria, largely because there are currently 221 ongo-
POLICY ing petrochemical, oil and gas projects in Egypt, Morocco to continue
more than twice the number in Algeria.
Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry sector and to its balance of payments, with the subsidising cooking gas
This could be a boon to Egypt’s hydrocarbon
hikes gasoline prices energy trade balance swinging from a large defi- despite ongoing crisis
cit to a small surplus last year and thus providing
The Egyptian government has hiked the admin- a boost to the country’s longer-term growth. The Moroccan government will continue to
istratively decided price of gasoline for the fifth Meanwhile, the ongoing shift has been in evi- subsidise certain household necessities includ-
consecutive time, in line with rising global oil dence this week, during which Italy’s Eni signed ing butane cooking gas, according to a statement
prices, in order to soften the effects of fuel subsi- deals both with Algeria’s Sonatrach and with by government spokesperson Mustapha Baitas,
dies on the fiscal deficit. Egypt to increase gas production, implying the who denied reports that it will stop spending on
At its quarterly meeting, the Automatic Fuel prospect of larger gas exports to Italy. them soon.
Pricing Committee, which operates within the bna/IntelliNews, April 15 2022 Current cooking gas reserves are enough for
Petroleum Ministry, increased the prices of all one month, Baitas added.
types of gasoline by 3%, while keeping steady Algeria’s president appoints The move will help to contain the anger that has
the prices of diesel used for the transport of been mounting in Moroccan society recently
commodities and of residual fuel oil used for members of new High because of higher prices on the domestic market.
strategic industries such as food and electricity. The Russian-Ukrainian war has escalated
However, the price of a tonne of fuel oil supplied Council of Energy inflation in Morocco and the entire North Afri-
to other industries was raised by EGP400 ($21.7) can region, pushing up the prices of essentials
to EGP4,600. Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has such as wheat, food and cooking gas.
The petroleum ministry was compelled to appointed the members of the country’s High Morocco subsidises cooking gas through its
move fuel prices higher against the background Council of Energy, according to a statement Compensation Fund. Global gas prices have
of global oil prices staying above $100 per bar- from the presidency. The new council will set out nearly doubled since the war erupted, which
rel for the second month running on supply and follow up the guidelines for national energy means the government will pay twice what it was
concerns, as some traders voluntarily shunned policy. It will work to maintain energy security paying before to subsidise cooking gas.

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