Oman Energy Ministry Signs Concession Agreement with Lebanon's CC Energy Development

The Omani Ministry of Energy signed the oil and gas exploration concession agreement with the Lebanese CC Energy Development (Omani News Agency)
The Omani Ministry of Energy signed the oil and gas exploration concession agreement with the Lebanese CC Energy Development (Omani News Agency)
TT
20

Oman Energy Ministry Signs Concession Agreement with Lebanon's CC Energy Development

The Omani Ministry of Energy signed the oil and gas exploration concession agreement with the Lebanese CC Energy Development (Omani News Agency)
The Omani Ministry of Energy signed the oil and gas exploration concession agreement with the Lebanese CC Energy Development (Omani News Agency)

Oman's energy ministry signed a concession agreement with Lebanon's CC Energy Development (CCED) for oil and gas exploration in concession areas number 38 and 74 in Dhofar province, the Oman state news agency said on Sunday.

The Lebanese company will conduct geological and geophysical studies and seismic surveys necessary for oil and gas prospecting and exploration operations.

The two concession areas are located in Dhofar governorate: Area No. 38 is situated southwest of the governorate and spans around 17,425 square kilometers, while Concession Area No. 74 is located southeast and spans around 3,064 square kilometers.

Oman's Minister of Energy and Minerals Salem al-Awfi and CCCED's president and director Marwan Salloum signed the concession agreement.

Awfi explained that the agreement reflects the Ministry of Energy and Minerals' commitment to expanding exploration and prospecting for oil and gas resources in Oman and the confidence that the Sultanate enjoys from local and international investors.

Furthermore, the initiative is expected to increase the sector's production capacity.

"By entering into this agreement, we strive to fortify current partnerships and build new ones in this sector, maximize the benefits from oil and gas resources, and employ cutting-edge sustainable technologies in exploration and prospecting operations," he said.

For his part, Salloum said the company's 15-year partnership with the Ministry, which led to our investments in concession areas 3 and 4.

He hoped the signing of the agreement for concession areas 38 and 74 will contribute to strengthening the company's investments in Oman during the coming years.

The director general of investment at Oman's Energy Ministry, Salah al-Dhahab, hoped the results of the geophysical surveys in the two areas would be successful to proceed to the drilling phase.

He pointed out that the signing of the agreements for concession areas 38 and 74 is a new addition to the operational areas, and one of the Ministry's goals is to increase the operating regions of the oil and gas sector.

The official noted that these two areas will be under the umbrella of exploration and prospecting through the signatory company, hoping they will have vast amounts of geophysical survey processing operations.

He noted that one of the areas will include new two-dimensional surveys, and drilling operations will follow if the results are successful.



Egypt, Cyprus Sign Gas Export Deals, Boosting Eastern Mediterranean Energy Cooperation

The logo of Italian energy company Eni is seen at a gas station in Rome, Italy August 16, 2018. (Reuters)
The logo of Italian energy company Eni is seen at a gas station in Rome, Italy August 16, 2018. (Reuters)
TT
20

Egypt, Cyprus Sign Gas Export Deals, Boosting Eastern Mediterranean Energy Cooperation

The logo of Italian energy company Eni is seen at a gas station in Rome, Italy August 16, 2018. (Reuters)
The logo of Italian energy company Eni is seen at a gas station in Rome, Italy August 16, 2018. (Reuters)

Egypt and Cyprus signed agreements on Monday enabling the export of gas from Cyprus's offshore fields to Egypt for liquefaction and re-export to Europe, as both countries seek to bolster the Eastern Mediterranean's role as an energy hub.

The deals signed at the 2025 Egypt Energy Show formalize a long-anticipated plan to link Cypriot reserves to Egypt’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, a move that leverages Egypt’s existing infrastructure to process and ship natural gas to European markets.

Monday's agreements involve gas extracted from one Cypriot site, Cronos Block 6 - now under license to a consortium of Italy's Eni and France's Total - to be processed at Egypt's Zohr facilities before being liquefied at Damietta and exported to Europe.

A second memorandum of understanding outlines a framework of processing gas from Cyprus' offshore Aphrodite field, under license to a Chevron-led consortium, which will also be sent to Egypt for processing.

The east Mediterranean has yielded some major gas discoveries in recent years, while a disruption in energy supplies from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has sharpened Europe's attention on securing supplies elsewhere.

"The essence of these agreements is not limited to promoting the exploitation of deposits, but broadens the prospects for energy cooperation with Egypt, while contributing to regional stability and strengthening our country's geopolitical position in the Eastern Mediterranean," a statement from Cyprus's Presidency said.

Cypriot officials have previously said they expect gas from Block 6 Cronos to possibly come online in 2026 or 2027. Cronos gas in place is estimated at more than 3 trillion cubic feet (tcf).

Aphrodite holds an estimated 3.5 tcf of gas. Israel's NewMed, a member of the consortium, expects gas to come online in 2031, it said in a stock exchange filing on Sunday.

In a Monday filing update, it said the "non-binding" MoU envisaged that Egypt's national gas company, EGAS, would be the sole buyer of the gas produced from Aphrodite, while the partners would be granted an option to purchase specific quantities of the gas sold to EGAS as LNG.

The signing of the Aphrodite deal follows a recent breakthrough between Cyprus and the Chevron-led consortium after months of disagreement over a development plan.

The agreement provides a boost for Egypt, which has struggled with declining domestic gas production and last year returned to being a net importer of natural gas.

Egypt recently signed $3 billion worth of LNG supply deals with Shell and TotalEnergies to cover domestic demand for 2025.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has emphasized the country's need to ramp up production at its own Zohr gas field, where operator Eni has resumed drilling after output dropped to 1.9 billion cubic feet per day in early 2024.