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Hull-based HiiROC expects to install a number of thermal plasma electrolysis units at gas flaring sites in Egypt in 2023, after signing aN MOU with Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company. The programme is part of a wider series of pilot projects that HiiROC hopes will demonstrate the commercial viability of producing what it calls ‘emerald hydrogen’, writes John Hamilton.

Cairo has got much of what it wanted from the COP27 climate-fest in Sharm El Sheikh, with $85bn of green hydrogen and renewable power mega-deals that have focused attention and foreign investment on a centrepiece of President Sisi’s economic strategy, Egypt’s energy hub concept. African Energy has analysed proposals from nine investment partners to calculate how much wind and solar generation capacity will be needed to produce green ammonia equivalent to 10% of current global production, which Egypt says it is ‘harvesting’, writes John Hamilton.

Germany’s Juwi is the final stages of commissioning the 36MWp solar PV plant at Centamin’s Sukari gold mine, which will work alongside an existing diesel plant.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s aim of using COP27 to bolster Egypt’s credentials as a regional green energy hub have seen deals on multi-gigawatt wind farms and the commissioning of the first green hydrogen (GH2) pilot project in Africa. But tricky compromises will be needed to turn some of the heady plans into reality.

Criticism of the proposed acquisition of London Stock Exchange (LSE)-listed Capricorn Energy by Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (Tase)-listed NewMed Energy has quickly gained momentum. As of 3 November, over one-third of Capricorn equity holders had publicly opposed the deal. The tie-up requires a majority of shareholders to vote in its favour at a general meeting.

The Egyptian government has approved an extension of Spanish renewable power developer TSK Grupo’s operations and maintenance contract for the Kom Ombo solar PV plant, which is owned by the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA).

Taqa Arabia will sell the power from its 20MW Sharm El Sheikh solar PV plant to customers of its own Global Energy distribution company. The project shows it is possible to build substantial renewable energy projects under regulator EgyptERA’s auto-generation rules. It has also stimulated positive headlines about the greening of the Red Sea tourism city in advance of COP27.

A solar power plant with battery energy storage at Centamin’s Sukari gold mine is set to be fully commissioned by year end, replacing diesel generators. London-and-Toronto listed Centamin is also evaluating proposals from independent power producers (IPPs) to supply grid power to the mine.

Having closed its $307m merger with Canada’s TransGlobe Energy, Houston-headquartered Vaalco Energy is looking to exploit potential cost savings of up to $50m, its chief executive George Maxwell told African Energy.

New York hedge fund Irenic Capital Management, which owns 1.5% of Capricorn Energy, has urged the London-listed indie to abandon its acquisition by Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (Tase)-listed NewMed Energy.

Europe’s hunger for non-Russian sources of natural gas has intensified diplomatic and commercial rivalries in the eastern Mediterranean, pushed ambitious schemes to the forefront, and raised the prospects of other African gas plays that were previously considered marginal. But it is not obvious that European governments or buyers are ready to plump for one favoured deal over the rest, meaning the gas could still go elsewhere.  

An Egyptian-led East Mediterranean gas hub hangs in the balance as the partners in Israel’s offshore Leviathan and Tamar gas fields weigh up their commercial options in the face of Cairo’s ambitions to dominate the market. It is the latest in a series of manoeuvres as eastern Mediterranean states – including Libya and Turkey – manoeuvre for position.

The Libyan and Turkish governments have defended their latest memorandum of understanding (MoU) on hydrocarbons exploitation in maritime areas that they claim, but several neighbours dispute. The result is a bad-tempered stand-off, even before details have been announced, let alone exploration areas named or awarded.

Norway’s Empower New Energy has raised $74m in equity from a consortium led by The Hague, Netherlands-based Climate Fund Managers (CFM).

Tel Aviv Stock Exchange-listed NewMed Energy’s proposed acquisition of London-listed Capricorn Energy has pushed aside a planned deal with Tullow Oil in favour of a merger that intensifies Israel’s involvement in the Egyptian upstream sector and could represent another important eastern Mediterranean gas play.