The Eastern Med is fast becoming one of the hottest sustainable energy basins in the world and with continued project expansion from the majors including TotalEnergies, Eni and Chevron as well as a renewed impetus to develop E&P prospects, gas processing and LNG infrastructure across the region, the Eastern Med looks set to continue its rapid development trajectory.
With an estimated 122 tcf of natural gas spanning the deep offshore plays of the region, there have been several major new developments to note in the past month. Across the region, operators and government stakeholders are working in tandem to develop the region to become not only energy independent but to become net exporters to European and global LNG consumers.
March and February saw a fever pitch of activity with a number of new bidding rounds announced by Cairo, who’s sole aim is to take domestic production to the next level and set the strategically important nation on the path to becoming an exporter of LNG. Israel too has seen a stack of new field developments and further collaboration with Egypt has meant that the prospect of a new FLNG unit in the Leviathan field. Sharing common acreage and with similar natural gas deposits of around 30-35 tcf, Israel and Egypt offer one another an expedient energy partnership.
Similarly eyeing the prospects of energy independence and hard currency revenues of offshore gas, Lebanon this month also announced plans to begin drilling offshore by the summer.
A key corporate and industry hub for the burgeoning energy markets in the Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus too has announced that its much vaunted LNG jetty terminal is close to completion and with record levels of planned investments into the offshore gas plays, the island nation looks determined to become not only an operational hub but also a corporate partner for its partners across the region.
So what does all this mean?
The ongoing war in Ukraine, loss of Russian gas supplies and soaring energy costs across the EMEA region has meant a rush on already stretched natural gas and LNG deliveries with a resulting bottleneck in midstream output. As the area continues to grow and as new infrastructure, offshore E&P and midstream facilities come on stream, the region looks set to continue on its path of energy security and develop the groundwork for future exports.
In short the news from the past month is a strong bellwether for the health of the wider industry and its future prospects.
MONTHLY ROUNDUP OF NEWS FROM THE EASTERN MED: EMC are pleased to offer a completely free-of-charge news blog that allows you to stay on top of all the news and analysis coming from the region. We update the news blog weekly so do check it out or simply select any of the recent industry news articles below.
