Author: Rigs & Barge World
The Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC), a state-owned company, has signed an agreement with US ConocoPhillips and energy firm Novaterra to develop new natural gas fields in Syria, according to Reuters. The agreement aims to support the recovery of Syria’s electricity sector and contribute to the country’s broader economic reconstruction, said Syrian Energy Minister Mohamed al-Bashir. He did not specify which gas fields would be included in the project. The deal builds on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the three parties in November 2025 to expand cooperation in Syria’s natural gas sector. According to Reuters, Syria’s domestic natural gas…
Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, met with a delegation from the state-owned Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), headed by its CEO, Hussain Sultan Lootah and Abdulkarim Almaazmi, CEO of Dragon Oil, a subsidiary of ENOC, to discuss opportunities for expanding Emirati investments in Egypt’s oil and gas sector. The two sides agreed to form a joint working team to develop an executive program for expanding UAE’s investments in Egypt’s petroleum sector and to study available opportunities in aviation fuel supply, exploration, and production,supporting the strategic partnership between the two countries and opening new horizons for growth and…
Egypt is playing up its role as a gas export hub for the East Mediterranean region as it grapples with its own steep production declines. Domestic production has fallen from more than 7bn cfd in 2021 to less than 4bn cfd, forcing Egypt to restart LNG imports along the way. It has been importing Israeli gas since 2020, first for re-export from its LNG terminals and since 2023 in order to prevent domestic shortages. Imports are set to rise from 1bn cfd currently to around 1.5bn cfd by the end of the year, increasing to over 2bn cfd by 2030.…
US Vaalco Energy has kicked off its 2026 onshore Egyptian drilling campaign by bringing the HE‑9 development well online in early June. The well encountered 26 meters of net pay in the Asl B reservoir in the Gulf of Suez, delivering a gross initial flow rate of 529 barrels of oil per day (bbl/d)—a result that surpassed the company’s pre‑drill expectations, noted a statement by Vaalco. In Gabon, Vaalco said that the Ebouri‑5H well, drilled at the crest of the Ebouri field, encountered 300 meters of net pay in high‑quality Gamba sands. The well is producing 8,000 bbl/d gross, equivalent…
A high-level interministerial committee reviewing Israel’s gas sector is in the final stages of drafting its report, which is expected to be published within weeks and set the framework for the government’s gas policy for the next five years. The committee is expected to endorse an increase in gas exports despite opposition from parts of the government, power producers and economists who argue that more gas should be reserved for the domestic market. The committee, established in 2024 and chaired by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure’s Director General Yossi Dayan, has now concluded its deliberations and is finalizing its…
The fertilizer plants in Egypt operated at more than 90% of their capacity over the past year following the stabilization of natural gas supplies, while urea fertilizer exports reached approximately $9.4 billion in 2025, marking an annual growth rate of 7.4%, according to Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. Speaking at the opening of the Arab Fertilizer Association’s 32 Annual International Fertilizers Conference and Exhibition, Badawi said that the ministry had successfully overcome challenges related to natural gas supplies and secured the needs of the domestic market and various industrial sectors. This, he noted, helped restore production and…
The Egyptian Linear Alkyl Benzene Company (ELAB), an Egyptian petrochemicals producer, has applied for a temporary listing on the Egyptian Exchange’s (EGX) main market, according to an EGX disclosure. The company plans to list 2.1 billion shares at a par value of $0.10 each, bringing its issued capital to approximately $210 million. The application is currently under review by the EGX before being referred to the Listing Committee. The move comes as part of the government’s broader privatization program, which includes the temporary listing of 10 petroleum sector companies on the EGX. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in April that…
Gulf oil and gas producers have devised ways to ship an increasing amount of oil through the Strait of Hormuz since Iran closed the waterway in March. Around 1-2mn b/d of oil is now being shipped out through the strait, supplementing the approximately 7mn b/d being exported by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iraq through their Hormuz-bypass systems (MEES, 12 June). In a sign of increased transits, Abu Dhabi state firm Adnoc has in recent weeks released at least two rare tenders to sell its offshore crude grades that have been trapped inside the Gulf since March (MEES, 6 March).…
As part of its strategy to boost domestic oil and gas output, the Egyptian oil and gas sector has added roughly 12,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of crude oil and condensates to Western Desert production over the past two weeks, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MoPMR) announced in a statement. This comes as Khalda Petroleum Company, a joint venture (JV) between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and US-based Apache, has achieved a significant production leap by adding more than 10,000 bbl/d of crude oil and condensates in just two weeks, pushing up the company’s production to around…
While some media outlets have hailed the US-Iran Framework Agreement as a major breakthrough, critics on both sides argue that the devil remains in the details. According to these critics, this is neither an ironclad treaty nor a durable path to permanent peace between the long-time rivals, let alone the wider region. Instead, it is a memorandum of understanding forged amid military threats, relentless rhetoric, and mutual insults. Barring any last-minute obstacles, the deal is scheduled to be formally signed on Friday, June 19, 2026, in Geneva, Switzerland. While President Trump and Vice President JD Vance confirmed that the preliminary memorandum of…