Kazakhstan, Belarus still considering oil supply draft agreement
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan - The beginning of possible deliveries of Kazakh oil to Belarus is expected after an agreement between two countries enters into force, as well as the commercial benefits of the deal, Kazakhstan’s...
IEA: Global oil supply tumbles in December
Global oil supply tumbled 780,000 barrels per day in December as biofuels production declined seasonally and Saudi Arabia reduced output, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in the agency’s Oil Market Report (OMR) on...
ENI’s Vår Energi gets 17 new exploration licenses in Norway
Italian energy major ENI through Vår Energi, jointly owned by ENI (69.6%) and by HitecVision (30.4%), will participate in a total of new 17 licenses as a result of the Awards in Predefined Areas...
East Med Gas Forum makes Cairo HQ
Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and Palestinian Authority signed in Cairo on 16 January the East Med Gas Forum (EMGF) foundation charter, creating a platform for East Mediterranean natural gas cooperation.
Cairo will be...
Rosneft, Russian Environment Ministry ink biodiversity agreement
Russian state oil giant Rosneft and Russia’s Natural Resources and Environment Ministry signed on 14 January a Cooperation Agreement as part of the national Environment project activities that strives to protect biodiversity and protect...
ExxonMobil secures exploration acreage offshore Egypt
US major ExxonMobil said it has secured more than 1.7 million acres for exploration offshore Egypt. “These awards strengthen our exploration portfolio in the Eastern Mediterranean,” ExxonMobil Senior Vice President of Exploration and New...
Gas reserves of Russian field in Yamal raised to 2 trillion cubic metres
Russia’s Federal Agency for Mineral Resources approved the expert opinion of the State Reserves Commission with regard to the calculation of hydrocarbon reserves in the Kruzenshternskoye gas and condensate field, Russian gas monopoly Gazprom...
Russia resumes oil supplies to Belarus after pricing dispute
Belarus has reached an agreement with Russia for limited oil supplies after Moscow stopped supplying crude two weeks ago amid stalled talks on strengthening economic ties between the neighbouring countries, AP reported on 4...
EIB funds to help finance electric and CNG buses in Spain
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has provided €27.5 million in financing to Spanish transport company Grupo Ruiz to replace its more polluting diesel buses with 32 electric and 141 compressed natural gas alternatives, the...
Putin, Erdogan launch TurkStream to Turkey, Southern Europe
Russia and Turkey launched the TurkStream gas pipeline on 8 January in a ceremony attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Serbian President Aleksandar...
Bulgaria to acquire 20% of Alexandroupolis LNG project in Greece
The Council of Ministers of the Bulgarian Government has approved the participation of Bulgaria’s state gas transmission company, Bulgartransgaz, by a percentage of 20% in the share capital of Gastrade, which is developing the...
Greek Prime Minister meets President Trump amid Mid-East turmoil
The January 7 White House meeting between US President Donald J Trump and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis did not yield any new US statements or a visible shift in existing policy regarding recent...
Chevron pulls staff from northern Iraq over security concerns
Following the killing of Iranian Quds Force leader , US oil giant Chevron said on 6 January the company removed its expatriate staff operating in northern Iraq for the time being as a precautionary...
Energean, DEPA sign EastMed pipeline gas purchase deal
ATHENS - Several hours before the leaders of Greece, Israel and Cyprus signed an intergovernmental agreement to construct the EU-backed gas pipeline, Energean and the Public Gas Corporation of Greece (DEPA) inked a commercial...
Dancing around Turkey, Greek energy chief says EastMed deal game changer
ATHENS – An agreement between Greece, Israel and Cyprus to build an undersea pipeline to carry gas from new offshore deposits in the southeastern Mediterranean to Europe, is not against any other country and...
Steinitz confident Israel and Cyprus can supply EastMed pipeline
ATHENS – Israel and Cyprus have enough gas to fill the proposed EastMed natural gas pipeline from the East Mediterranean to Europe, Israel’s Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told New Europe in an interview in...
Oil price jump: an inevitable knee-jerk reaction to the killing of Soleimani
Oil prices spiked on 3 January on news that Qassem Suleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force and architect of its growing military influence in the region, was killed at Baghdad’s airport during a...
It’s final! Russia’s Gazprom, Ukraine’s Naftogaz will keep EU supply flowing
Russian gas monopoly Gazprom and Ukraine’s Naftogaz said they have finalised the contracts ensuring uninterrupted transit of Russian natural gas to Europe.
On 30 December, representatives of Naftogaz, Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU)...
KazTransOil to export 2 low-sulphur oil tankers through Novorossiysk
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan - For the first time in December, 160,000 tonnes of low-sulphur oil was transported in a mixture with Siberian Light oil of the West Siberian variety, intended for further shipment for export...
Kazakhstan launches Saryarka gas pipeline
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan - The first phase of the Saryarka gas pipeline, which stretches from the south of Kazakhstan to the center of the country - to the capital Nur-Sultan, was launched at the end...
Oil price reaches 3-month high as 2019 nears end
Hopes for a US-China trade deal and an American Petroleum Institute (API) report showing lower US crude inventories pushed oil prices about 1% to the highest in more than three months on 26 December.
Brent...
EU says Ukrainian gas transmission operator is unbundled
Ukraine's newly established gas transmission system operator is unbundled according to European Union legislation, EU Commission Vice President for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight Maroš Šefčovič, who was previously the VP for Energy Union and...
Turkey lurking, Greece-Cyprus-Israel EastMed political deal coming
ATHENS – Greece, Cyprus and Israel plan to sign an intergovernmental agreement for the construction of the EastMed natural gas pipeline in Athens on 2 January.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin...
Belarus president warns Russia against forceful merger
Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko has warned Russia that a forced merger of the two countries could trigger a war.
Such an attempt would be seen by the West as a threat, Lukashenko explained in an...
Germany helps broker Russian gas transit deal via Ukraine to EU
Following intense negotiations, Russian, Ukrainian representatives have reached an agreement in principle in Berlin on 19 December to continue the transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory. The talks were held at the German...
Irked Merkel rips US Nord-Stream-2 sanctions
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has reportedly criticised US sanctions on companies constructing the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany but noted that Berlin is not planning to impose counter-sanctions.
“I see no other...
Kazakhstan increases gas exports to China
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan - Kazakhstan increased gas exports to China to 7.5 billion cubic metres in 2019 compared 5.8 billion cubic metres in last year, the press service of Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry said on 19...
EU hopes for deal at political trilateral gas talks with Russia and Ukraine
On 19 December, the next round of trilateral talks at political level with Russia and Ukraine on the long-term transit of gas through Ukraine post-2019 will take place in Berlin with European Commission Vice...
Energy Regulators discuss challenges of gas and renewables in Med region
On 10 December, in Rome, at the initiative of the President of the Italian Energy regulator ARERA, Stefano Besseghini, MEDREG welcomed 12 Presidents of Mediterranean Energy Regulatory Authorities to exchange approaches and good practices...
OPEC+ becomes OPEC- with oil production cuts
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major producers led by Russia, a group known as OPEC+, have reportedly agreed to make further small cuts in oil production to boost crude...
Ceasefire: Russia’s Gazprom, Ukraine’s Naftogaz, EU’s gas link team
Last week bilateral negotiations at the expert level between Russian gas monopoly Gazprom and Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine with regard to the terms of transiting Russian gas to Europe from 2020 onward...
Greece launches tender process for sale of DEPA infrastructure
The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) said it has launched an international public tender process for the joint sale, along with Hellenic Petroleum, of the 100% in the share capital of DEPA Infrastructure,...
Russia commences Power of Siberia pipeline gas supplies to China
Russia started on 2 December Russian gas pipeline supplies to China via the ambitious Power of Siberia gas pipeline or so-called eastern route.
Taking part in a ceremonial event via conference call were Russian President...
German business to help Kazakhstan diversify investments
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan - As part of his official visit to Berlin, Kazakh President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev held a series of meetings with representatives of German business to boost bilateral investments, the presidential press service, Akorda,...
Kazakhstan plans to export over 70 million tonnes of oil in 2019
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan - For the first 11 months of this year, Kazakhstan exported 65.791 million tonnes of oil, or 99.6% compared to the same period of last year. The export plan for 2019 is...
Shell offsets CO2 emissions from lubricant for wind turbines
COPENHAGEN, Denmark - While the wind industry is striving to eliminate hydrocarbons an energy source, thus cutting CO2 emissions, wind turbines still use hydrocarbons as a lubricant. With that in mind, Royal Dutch Shell...
Turkey, Libya delimitation deal raises geopolitical tensions
Turkey has signed an agreement with Libya’s internationally recognised government on maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea that could affect oil and gas exploration of other countries and heighten geopolitical tensions in the volatile...