British Companies Clinch Deals for Assets in Egypt, Italy
While UKERC releases a report on ‘environmentally friendly shale gas developments,’ British companies clinch agreements for new assets in Egypt and Italy.
BP IN EGYPT
UK-based BP announced on Friday that it has signed the final agreements of the West Nile Delta project (WND) to develop 5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas resources and 55 million barrels (mmbbls) of condensates. The company estimated the investment at around $12 billion.
‘Production from WND is expected to reach up to 1.2 billion cubic feet a day (bcf/d), equivalent to about 25 per cent of Egypt’s current gas production and significantly contribute to increasing the supply of energy in Egypt. All the produced gas will be fed into the country’s national gas grid, helping to meet the anticipated growth in local demand for energy. Production is expected to start in 2017’ reads a note released by BP, adding that the company believes that Egypt’s investment and economic climate is about to get better.
The company also said that the project would increase Egypt’s energy security.
“BP is proud of its record in Egypt over the past 50 years and we are looking forward to many more years in the country. The WND project investment is the largest foreign direct investment in Egypt” Bob Dudley, BP Group Chief Executive, commented.
BP, which is the operator of the two offshore concession blocks - North Alexandria and West Mediterranean Deepwater, said that additional explorations could add between 5 and 7 tcf.
Similarly, earlier this year, Italy-based ENI unveiled a new oil and gas discovery in the Western Desert of Egypt, confirming its commitment to the North African country.
SHELL IN ITALY
On Thursday, Northern Petroleum signed a farm out agreement for the Cascina Alberto permit in north-west Italy with Shell Italia E&P S.p.A. The junior explorer will farm out its 80% interest and the operatorship for US$850,000 in cash on completion.
‘Shell will carry Northern Petroleum for the costs of the exploration campaign, which will include a carry on the acquisition of any new seismic until the seismic costs reach US$4 million and a carry on any exploration well until the well costs reach US$50 million’ reads the press release.
Northern Petroleum said that the deal demonstrates the value of its Italian assets.
“Northern will continue to progress its permits and applications with the Italian authorities and partner with companies with larger resources” Keith Bush, Chief Executive Officer, commented.
The field is close to Novara, Vercelli and Biella.
SHALE GAS IN THE UK?
Meanwhile, UKERC published a report on shale gas, saying that there is a potential for the resource to act as a transition fuel to a low-carbon future up to 2035.
‘We have commented that the UK may be able to develop some of its potential shale gas resources within the context of a global effort to keep average global warming below 2oC with a reasonable likelihood. This is again consistent with the views of the UK’s Committee on Climate Change (CCC) who state that ‘UK shale gas production could be compatible with meeting [its] emissions targets’ (CCC, 2013)’ the centre for UK energy research wrote on its website.