Author: Rigs & Barge World

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly led an inspection tour to follow up on developments in preparing the infrastructure at Ain Sokhna port so that the second FRSU to start operations. Madbouly began his tour by inspecting the Energos Eskimo Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU). During his inspection tour, Madbouly reviewed the technically advanced works that Petrojet will be finalising within days . These works are in preparation for operating the FSRU, after which it will be transferred to the Arab Petroleum Pipelines Company (SUMED) port berth in Sokhna. The FSRU has a capacity of 750 million cubic feet of gas per…

Two oil tankers — the Front Eagle and Adalynn — collided off the eastern coast of the UAE on Tuesday morning, sparking large fires and raising concerns over possible environmental damage. The Front Eagle, a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) loaded with 2mn barrels of Basrah Heavy grade crude from Iraq, was en route to Zhoushan, China. MEES can confirm that the lifter was China’s Unipec. The Adalynn’s activity isn’t as clear. The Suezmax vessel appears to have drydocked in Duqm, Oman earlier this year before sailing to the UAE’s Khor Fakkan in early May, where it has been idle at anchorage for over a…

The North Baharia Petroleum Company (Norpetco) continues to implement its plans to increase production with a budget exceeding $100 million and production rates surpassing 16,000 barrels of oil, Norpetco’s chairman, Khaled El-Sheshtawy, said. The company also increased the number of crude oil storage tanks in its fields, reaching a storage capacity of 75,000 barrels. This came during a meeting with Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. Norpetco, an Egyptian oil and gas company involved in exploration, drilling, and production activities,  established and operated two significant projects: The first is a new shipping pipeline that ends with   Qarun Petroleum…

Following a US strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, reports indicate that the Iranian parliament has approved closing the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation against its long-standing adversary, the United States. However, the final decision rests with Iran’s Supreme Security Council and, ultimately, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, according to a few other reports from Iran.Despite the parliamentary approval, economic and political analysts largely believe Iran is unlikely to take this drastic step. Several factors weigh against such a move: Iran itself relies on the Strait of Hormuz for its oil exports, and key Iranian allies, like China and India (the world’s…

Egypt became the first African and Arab country to lead the International Gas Union (IGU) in a six-year period after a majority of the IGU’s  94 members voted in favor ot its becoming the union’s vice president (2025–2028) followed by the Presidency (2028–2031). Established in 1931, the IGU is a global non-profit organization that leads global efforts to position gas as a pillar of a secure, sustainable, and affordable energy future. Egypt is represented in the IGU by the Egyptian Gas & Energy Association (EGEA). The announcement was made in a press conference where most of EGEA’s senior officials presented…

Saudi Arabia’s renewable power generation more than doubled to a record 11TWh last year as it brought online 3.7GW of new solar capacity. This left Saudi Arabia just 2.4TWh behind the region’s renewables leader, the UAE, last year and continued capacity growth means that it is set to jump ahead of its neighbor this year. The bulk of last year’s renewables growth came online towards the end of the year – the 2.66GW Shuaibah complex was connected to the grid in Q4 (MEES, 6 December 2024) – and the kingdom is on track to add another 6.16GW of capacity this…

Russia has expressed intent to supply Mexico with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and share energy technologies, said the Russian Embassy in Mexico. This step is expected to solve challenging geopolitical conditions and improving efficiency of oil processing. “We are already working with Mexico. We have excellent LNG technologies, and we are ready to share these technologies and supply LNG as well,” said Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev. Mexico currently depends on 72% of natural gas imports, mostly from the U.S, primarily for electricity generation and industrial uses, with the majority of natural gas deliveries being transported via pipelines. Meanwhile, Petróleos…

In a calculated move on the morning of 13 June, Israel took offline the 1.1bn cfd Leviathan field and the 500mn cfd Karish for precautionary reasons, as it launched its first wave of attacks on Iran (MEES, 13 June). This left only the 1.0bn cfd Tamar field operational. MEES understands that Tamar output is now at record levels, with all of its production supplying the domestic market for the first week of the conflict. This changed on 19 June when Israel resumed exporting small amounts to Egypt and Jordan, Israel’s energy ministry confirms to MEES (MEES, 20 June). Both Tamar…

If recent years have taught shipowners anything, it’s the far-reaching impact of geopolitical conflicts. The dislocation of global energy flows following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and attacks on Red Sea shipping by Yemen’s Houthis since late 2023 have proven to be prolonged and destabilizing – quick to escalate and slow to resolve. Now the shipping industry is facing a new crisis following Israel’s 13 June attack on Iran and its nuclear facilities (MEES, 13 June). As MEES went to press, the two countries were still launching strikes against each other, with no signs of a ceasefire amid concerns that…

The perils of Egypt’s dependence on gas imports were painfully exposed this week, when Israel halted gas exports on the morning of 13 June in anticipation of Iran’s response to its airstrikes (MEES, 13 June). Egypt’s gas balances were already stretched amid delays in installing two new floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), and Cairo has scrambled to secure additional fuel oil supplies for later this summer in order to build up strategic reserves. Although the 1.0bn cfd Tamar gas field remains Israel’s only currently operational gas field, Israel on 19 June restarted exports to both Egypt and Jordan, albeit…