Natural gas

Turkey's Unit International has signed a $7 billion agreement with Russia's state-owned Zarubezhneft and Iran's Ghadir Investment Holding to drill for oil and natural gas in Iran, the company said on Aug. 15.

Gazprom said on Aug. 14 that new U.S. sanctions against Moscow would not result in the Russian gas exporter having to make changes to key projects, although they could cause delays.

Bulgargaz predicts a 6% decline in natural gas from October 1. This is clear from a news release on the company's website, quoted by bTV. 

The estimated price of blue fuel for the fourth quarter of 2017 is BGN 347.99 per 1000 cubic meters (excluding transport, excise and VAT). This represents a decrease of BGN 22.22 per 1000 cubic meters compared to the current price.

The news last week was that Noble Energy decided to move two of its senior staff from Cyprus to Israel. Some ‘political sources’ interpreted this to be the result of dissatisfaction with the way government is handling commercialisation of Aphrodite and in particular the inordinate delays and lack of progress.

Greece received six expressions of interest for the sale of a 66% stake in state natural gas grid operator DESFA, the country’s privatization agency (HRADF) said in a press release on Monday.

The investor groups that responded to the tender are:

The growth of shale gas extraction is positioning the United States to be a bigger natural gas exporter, potentially challenging Russia's hold on the European market.

There were expressions of interest from Europe, the USA and Qatar on Monday for a majority stake in Greece's natural gas transmission system operator DESFA.

The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (TAIPED) managed to attract the interest of six bidders for the 66 percent stake in the gas firm. Most of the investors are from Europe.

By Charles Ellinas

Given the prospect of new gas discoveries in Cyprus’ EEZ, it is timely to review recent developments.

Floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) scored some notable successes so far in 2017, to the extent that the world may be witnessing a resurgence of this technology.

Production of energy products in May 2017 compared to April 2017 an increase is reported for the production of:

solid fuels - by 21.0% to 2 846 thousand tonnes;

unleaded motor gasoline - by 1.9% to 160 thousand tonnes;

transport diesel - by 11.3% to 286 thousand tonnes.

Bulgaria expressed interest in potential supplies of natural gas from Israeli fields, the Council of Ministers reported.