Page 13 - EurOil Week 30 2022

EurOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT EurOil

Chevron considering Israel link

for Cypriot gas

CYPRUS US major Chevron is considering field develop- While there may yet be hope for plans for
ment and resource export options for its Aph- a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU)
Aphrodite contains rodite gas field offshore Cyprus, one of which and a liquefaction facility at the Cypriot port of
close to 100 bcm of would entail piping it to subsea facilities in Israel Vasilikos, a joint statement said that the parties
natural gas. for onward export. would focus on “synergies with other facilities in
The US firm’s head of Middle East & Africa the region”, highlighting options to connect the
E&P, Clay Neff, held talks with Cypriot Minister asset to infrastructure in Egypt or Israel.
of Energy Natasa Pilides and Annita Demetriou, The Egyptian options would entail either a
President of the House of Representatives, with new dedicated pipeline directly to the Egyptian
the parties outlining their intentions for “mutu- coast or to the offshore Zohr gas field, operated
ally beneficial co-operation in viably and effi- by Italian firm Eni. Meanwhile, Aphrodite lies
ciently developing Aphrodite”. just 30 km from Israel’s Leviathan gas field –
Aphrodite was discovered in 2011 and holds also operated by Chevron alongside NewMed –
around 3.5 trillion cubic feet (99bn cubic metres) which is already tied back to midstream facilities.
of contingent gas resources, with another 1 tril- In either case, the aim will be to leverage Egyp-
lion cubic feet (28bcm) considered as potential tian liquefaction capacity at the Damietta and Idku
resource upside. plants, the latter of which is operated by Shell.
The field is located in the island nation’s off- The talks come as the partners prepare to kick
shore Block 12 concession, in which Chevron off drilling the A-3 appraisal/development well
holds a stake of 35% with Shell (35%), with at the field, with industry reports suggesting that
NewMed Energy (formerly Delek, 30%) holding the Stena Forth drillship will be used, having pre-
the remainder. viously carried out work at Leviathan. ™

Enagas says July 24 dip in Algerian

gas supplies was only temporary

SPAIN ENAGAS, the owner and operator of Spain’s a minimum rate of 704,000 normal cubic metres
gas transportation system, confirmed on July per hour.
The dip in supplies 24 that the volume of natural gas coming into The brief dip in delivery volumes occurred
comes as anxieties in the country from Algeria had declined briefly at a time when anxieties over gas supplies are
Europe increase about earlier in the day but stressed that the drop was running high. Much of Europe is experiencing a
the security of gas temporary in nature, with no need for corrective severe heatwave, and the hot weather has caused
supply. measures. the reservoirs that supply water to Spain’s hydro-
In a statement, Enagas said it had been electric power plants (HPPs) to sink to record
informed by Medgaz, the operator of a pipeline low levels. Meanwhile, the volume of gas arriving
that runs from Algeria to Spain across the Med- from Russia, which has long been the largest sin-
iterranean seabed, that gas shipments would be gle supplier of gas to the EU, has gone down as a
suspended for a two-hour period beginning at consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine,
12:00 noon local time. Medgaz explained the which led to a deterioration in relations between
suspension by noting the need to perform rou- Moscow and Brussels.
tine maintenance work on a compressor station Spain has a relative advantage over some
at Beni Saaf, it reported. other European countries, as it is home to six
The result of this temporary stoppage was operating LNG import terminals and is also
“a decrease – but not a cessation – in the flows receiving Algerian gas via the Medgaz line.
entering Spain” via the Almeria International However, relations between Madrid and Algiers
Connection, where the pipeline makes landfall, have been worsening during the last year, largely
Enagas said. It also stated that the maintenance because of the latter’s displeasure at the former’s
work had been completed satisfactorily and that endorsement of the Moroccan government’s
gas flows had returned to normal levels, reaching approach to Western Sahara. ™

Week 30 29•July•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P13