Author: Rigs & Barge World

Infinity Power, Africa’s largest renewable energy company, signed an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract with POWERCHINA Huadong Engineering Corporation Limited (HDEC) to develop a 200 megawatt (MW) wind farm in the Ras Ghareb region of Egypt’s Gulf of Suez. The project is a flagship initiative under Egypt’s renewable energy program, part of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development-led Energy Pillar of the Nexus Water-Food-Energy (NWFE) initiative. Once completed, the wind farm is expected to supply clean electricity to over 300,000 homes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 400,000 tons annually, according to Infinity Power’s statement. “We…

Egypt awarded its first Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production license to the Egyptian Sustainable Aviation Fuel Company (ESAF), a subsidiary of the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM). The agreement was signed between ESAF and Honeywell UOP, in the presence of Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi. The agreement marks the launch of Egypt’s first SAF project, to be built in Alexandria. The facility will convert used cooking oil into up to 120,000 tons of jet fuel annually, cutting an estimated 400,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. According to a statement by the ministry, Badawi described the…

Cheiron has signed with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) an agreement for oil exploration and production in the East Gemsa offshore area in the Gulf of Suez. The deal, which covers the drilling of four new wells, involves overall investments exceeding $30 million, in addition to a $1 million signature bonus. The agreement was signed in attendance of Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Ihab Regaei, First Undersecretary of the MoPMR for Production for the ministry, and Samir Raslan, Undersecretary of the MoPMR for Agreements and Exploration. The deal represents a successful partnership model with the Egyptian…

Iran is on course for a fifth consecutive annual increase in oil production, albeit a marginal increase, despite the return of President Trump to the White House in January and the launch of his ‘maximum pressure 2.0’ campaign (MEES, 7 February). Production has averaged 3.27mn b/d over the first ten months of the year (see chart), although volumes have dropped back slightly from their April high point of 3.31mn b/d. Read this article for free Gain access to over 60-years of energy analysis and news Delve into the details backed by data Exclusive information from high-level officials Assess future risks…

ExxonMobil plans to permanently shut down the older of its two steam crackers on Singapore’s Jurong Island, with closure beginning in March and full shutdown expected by June, Reuters reported, citing four sources. The move comes as petrochemical producers worldwide face losses from sharp overcapacity driven largely by China. The 2002-built plant has been winding down as ExxonMobil gradually reduced term contract volumes in Singapore over the past two years. The company’s second Jurong Island cracker, launched in 2013, has a capacity of 1.1 million tons per year and will continue operations. Local buyers are expected to shift to Singapore’s…

Q: Energean has a strong East Mediterranean footprint with producing assets in Israel and Egypt. The key asset is the Karish field offshore Israel, not forgetting the nearby Katlan development. Can you give us an update on those two projects? A: At the moment, you’re absolutely right. It’s Karish and Karish North. Four wells producing a steady capacity of 730mn cfd, we are meeting the contractual arrangements that we have in Israel. We do see seasonality in Israel. Peak demand is during the summer months when the capacity is not enough. The physical capacity of the [780mn cfd Energean Power]…

Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, met the leadership of four international mining companies during his London visit. The Minister outlined the reforms the sector has embarked on to create an attractive investment environment. Mike Silver, Co-Founder and Director of the Canadian mining company Lotus Gold, and Omar Nasser, its General Manager, discussed with Badawi gold exploration activities in the Eastern Desert, where the company already has interests. Both sides agreed to coordinate geological data sharing, knowledge transfer for Egyptian geologists, and regular technical review sessions. Badawi also held talks with Alex Pickard, Vice President Corporate Development at…

Egypt advanced talks with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on financing the upcoming airborne geophysical survey and explored new financing avenues for mining projects. This came during Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi’s visit to London, where he led the Egyptian-British business delegation. In a meeting with Anass Joundy, South and Eastern Mediterranean lead banker for Natural Resources at EBRD, Badawi underscoredd Egypt’s progress toward becoming one of the region’s most competitive destinations for mineral exploration and production. The airborne survey will map potential deposits of critical and rare minerals, lower exploration risks, and improve…

2025 has been a challenging year for Greek independent Energean. The London and Tel-Aviv listed firm had hoped to sell its Egypt, Italy and Croatia assets to UK-based equity giant Carlyle for $945mn, but the deal fell through in March after regulatory approvals were not provided in time (MEES, 21 March). That same month it announced that its short-lived entry into Morocco’s offshore alongside London-based Chariot was coming to an end after the Anchois well, spudded in August 2024, returned “unfavorable” results (MEES, 21 March). (CONTINUED – 927 WORDS) Read this article for free Gain access to over 60-years of…

Saudi Aramco’s Jafurah shale gas project has commenced production at 450 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d), marking the completion of the project’s first phase, Saudi Arabia’s Finance Ministry revealed, Reuters reported. The milestone was highlighted in the kingdom’s 2026 budget statement as one of the key achievements of 2025. Jafurah, the largest shale natural gas development outside the US, holds an estimated 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw natural gas and is valued at $100 billion. The project is expected to reach sustained production of 2 billion cubic feet per day by 2030, enabling Saudi Arabia to…