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Kuwait Energy and Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation have commissioned a gas plant at the Abu Sennan concession in the Western Desert. The plant aims to optimise utilisation of the hydrocarbons on the block. “The associated gas is now captured and processed for domestic utilization, while simultaneously removing a bottleneck in oil production resulting in an increase in total field throughput,” the company said. Kuwait Energy holds a 50% revenue interest and is the operator in the Abu Sennan development lease, while Dover Investments holds 28% and Beach Energy holds 22%.

The World Bank is considering support for Eni’s Sankofa oil and gas project on the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) block. The proposed support package would include World Bank guarantees to support investments in phase 2 of the project, which will develop the Sankofa gas field, and an International Finance Corporation loan as part of a debt financing package for Vitol. Vitol has also applied for a $470m Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (Miga) guarantee against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation, and breach of contract. Miga may also provide coverage for non-shareholder loans from commercial lenders yet to be identified.

The Logbaba power plant has begun delivering 30MW to the grid, fuelled by gas from Victoria Oil & Gas (VOG) subsidiary Gaz du Cameroun. VOG said on 23 April it had begun gas supply to the plant following the installation of gas-fired electricity generators by Altaaqa Global. GDC’s gas is also supplying the 20MW Bassa plant, which started up in March, and the new supply triggers take or pay conditions in a contract with state utility Eneo Cameroun signed in December 2014, which fixes guaranteed minimum take or pay gas consumption at $9/mBtu over the two-year contract term.

Kosmos Energy has announced a “significant, play-opening gas discovery” with the Tortue-1 exploration well in offshore Block C-8. The well, drilled in 2,700 metres of water to test the Tortue West prospect which forms part of the Greater Tortue Complex, intersected 107 metres of net hydrocarbon pay. A single gas pool was encountered in the primary Lower Cenomanian objective, comprised of three high-quality reservoirs totalling 88 metres in thickness over a gross hydrocarbon bearing interval of 161 metres.

Repsol has made a third gas discovery in the Illizi basin, in southeast Algeria. The discovery made in the Tan Emellel Sud-Ouest-2 (Teso-2) exploration well in the Sud-Est Illizi block is the continuation of an already very successful exploration campaign in the high-potential area, the Spanish company said. The gas discovery was made at a depth of 1,307 metres and well testing delivered a gas flow rate of 175,000m³/d, and 90 b/d of condensate with a 32/64” choke. Repsol aims to drill at least four more wells to appraise the previous discoveries within the Sud-Est Illizi block.

The purchase of BG Group by Royal Dutch Shell confirmed predictionsthat the falling oil price would trigger a spate of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the upstream industry. It points to a need for even the biggest players to build scale in developing their natural gas trade; for Shell, BG’s assets in Australia and the Atlantic Basin (Brazil) will help to secure a dominant position in Asian and other key markets for liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Statoil has announced a new natural gas discovery with the Mdalasini-1 exploration well on the southern edge of Block 2. Partner ExxonMobil did not participate in the well, which was drilled in a water depth of 2,296 metres, encountering gas in Tertiary and Cretaceous sandstones. Reserves are estimated at 1-1.8tcf of natural gas in place, bringing the total of in-place volumes in the block to approximately 22tcf. “The Mdalasini-1 discovery marks the completion of the first phase of an efficient and successful multi-well exploration programme offshore Tanzania,” said Nick Maden, senior vice-president for Statoil’s exploration activities in the Western Hemisphere.

The government has agreed more price increases for international oil companies selling into the domestic market. Under an agreement signed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources on 23 March, RWE-Dea will be paid 40% more for natural gas extracted in the Nile Delta Disouq development. In return for a price rise from $2.50/mBtu to $3.50/mBtu, the German company will increase its average output from Disouq to 210mcf/d by mid-2015, from 145mcf/d; production should then rise to 300mcf/d by mid-2016, the ministry said.

The 550mcf/d Höegh Gallant floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) has been installed by Norway’s Höegh at Ain Sokhna, on the Red Sea, and a first delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has arrived from Qatar. The Höegh Gallant has been leased to Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (Egas) for a five-year period. Höegh LNG formally signed a five-year contract with Egas for the vessel at the beginning of November. Egas plans to install a second FSRU at Ain Sokhna later this year, but details have yet to be revealed.

The first big transaction in a predicted wave of industry consolidation prompted by the low oil price, the deal boosted the value of other rumoured bid targets such as Tullow Oil and Ophir Energy. Acquiring BG will increase Shell’s reserves by about a quarter and its production by some 20%, as well as delivering key assets in deep-water Brazil and the Queensland Curtis liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. Shell’s £47bn ($67bn) bid was priced at a 50% premium to BG’s share price, which has been depressed by concerns about the cost of its flagship Brazil and Australian projects, as well as controversy over the pay package offered to new chief executive Helge Lund.

Azonto Petroleum plans to re-tender the construction package for the Gazelle gas project in a bid to push down costs. The Australian company said Italy’s Rosetti Marino had quoted it a higher-than-expected lump-sum price for the offshore and onshore project elements. “In order to achieve a realistic breakeven gas price, and to capitalise on current downward pressure on drilling and other construction costs, the Vioco board therefore has decided to re-tender the construction package. This will result in a delay in sanctioning the Gazelle project,” Azonto said in a 31 March statement.

The enormous roster of energy sector investment projects announced at the Egypt Economic Development Conference at Sharm El-Sheikh in mid-March includes a number of firm projects to be funded by the government, and a larger number of independent power projects (IPPs) in gas, coal and renewables, some of which represent firm commitments and others which are much less likely to proceed. The overwhelming question is how the promised developments will be paid for alongside even more ambitious plans for the construction of a new $45bn capital city east of Cairo.

BP Egypt has announced a second gas discovery in the North Damietta Offshore concession in the East Nile Delta. BP said on 9 March the Atoll-1 deep-water exploration well, drilled by the semi-submersible rig Maersk Discoverer, had reached 6,400 metres depth and penetrated 50 metres of gas pay in high-quality Oligocene sandstones. Expected to be the deepest well ever drilled in Egypt, the Atoll well still has another 1km to drill to test the same reservoir section found to be gas bearing in the 2013 Salamat discovery, 15km to the south.

US power developer ContourGlobal aims to complete pre-commissioning of the 25MW first phase of its Lake Kivu methane plant by end-March, then tow the barge out into the lake for the commissioning phase. The innovative project aims to produce 100MW of power from methane dissolved in the lake’s waters, while also averting the risk of a potentially deadly release of methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. With the 28MW Nyabarongo hydro plant inaugurated by President Paul Kagame on 5 March and the 15MW Gishoma peat plant due on stream in H2, Rwanda’s installed capacity should reach almost 200MW by year-end.

Royal Dutch Shell has signed a preliminary agreement to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the Ghana 1000 gas-to-power project. A joint statement said project partners General Electric, Endeavor Energy, Eranove and Sage Petroleum had agreed a supply term sheet with Shell and entered into exclusive sale and purchase agreement negotiations for a long-term supply agreement. Ghana 1000 is an integrated gas-to-power project that will consist of 1,300MW to be delivered in two phases, a floating storage and regasification unit and related infrastructure.