Interviews

AN INTERVIEW with Energean Group CEO Mr.Mathios Rigas

Published on : 2020-02-12

- How do you oversee EGYPS2020?

EGYPS 2020 is definitely a landmark event, hosting top level officials from governments and companies. The event provides the basis for the energy market to strengthen their collaboration in dealing with the challenges that our industry  faces – namely sustainability and climate change. I believe the conference will shed light on how the industry will be able to deliver the energy needs of tomorrow and achieve a smooth energy transition that will secure the supply of clean and affordable energy to consumers worldwide.

We believe that Energean’s participation in a number of panels will substantially contribute to fruitful dialogue with focus on how the industry will manage to deliver the energy needs of tomorrow. We will also exhibit in EGYPS 2020 to introduce Energean to a distinguished audience and provide information on the company’s visions and plans.

- Energean seeks to achieve its goal of becoming the leading E&P Company in the Mediterranean, what are the steps taken for this goal?

In 2007, Energean was a company with a small amount of production and just 2 mmbls of oil reserves in Greece. Today we have evolved to a Group with approx. 600 mmboe reserves that operates production, development and exploration assets in eight countries in the Mediterranean, inclusive of the acquisition of Edison E&P.

Egypt was the first country we expanded into, then Montenegro in the Adriatic, and in 2016, we made the big step with the acquisition of Karish and Tanin gas fields that contain 2.4 Tcf of gas offshore Israel. Karish is now under development through a $1.6 billion project with our FPSO  the “Energean Power”, which will be the first FPSO ever to operate in the East Mediterranean, an infrastructure that will be a gas hub in the region, as adjacent fields can be tied back and developed easily.

Another milestone for the Company was the 2018 IPO on the London Stock Exchange – the biggest IPO in the E&P sector in the previous four years. A parallel listing on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange followed. In July 2019 we announced the Edison E&P acquisition, a deal which gives us scale of reserves, resources and production and makes Energean one of the largest independent E&P companies in Europe.

With the backing of all of our key stakeholders, Energean seeks to achieve its sustainable development guided firmly by our values, namely being ethical and responsible, being transparent and accountable, creating an attractive workplace and being an employer of choice, mitigating environmental impacts and minimising our footprint and supporting local communities.

 

- Where exactly will you run the business & where is your biggest market share?

Inclusive of the Edison E&P acquisition, we will be present in Egypt, Italy, Israel, Greece, Croatia, Montenegro, Malta and Cyprus. We have so far achieved to secure app. 30% market share in the Israeli gas market as of 1H 2021, when the Karish field is scheduled to come on steam. In Egypt we will be operating one of the country’s main gas producing assets, the Abu Qir fields.

The Edison E&P portfolio also includes production from several assets in Italy as well as a key development, Cassiopea. Cassiopea will contribute approximately 35% of overall Italian reserves and is expected to more than double Italian production, becoming one of the country’s largest producing gas fields.

 

- What are the recent awarded contracts by yours in the region?

 We have so far secured 5.0 bcm/yr of firmly contracted gas sales to Israeli domestic buyers, namely IPPs and industrial consumers. We have also secured 1.3 bcm/yr of contingent gas sales and 2.0 bcm/yr of potential sales under a Letter of Intent with Greece's DEPA in the context of the East Med Pipeline project. With the above we are fast approaching our goal to fill the 8 bcm/yr capacity of the Energean Power.

In 2018, Energean also agreed with BP to extend, until November 2025, a long-term offtake agreement for the production from the Prinos Basin in Northern Greece.

Edison E&P has its own sales agreements, as 100% of the gas produced at Abu Qir is sold to EGPC and 100% of the production in Italy is sold to Edison SpA.

 

- Energean operates assets that have been producing oil & gas since 1981. Since 2007, you have been creating your own history in the Mediterranean E&P sector. Do you have any plans to invest in other different regions?

 

We are now focused on the completion of the Edison E&P acquisition, but we are always seeking investment opportunities in the Mediterranean.  Our strategy is quite clear: ESG Stewardship – Risk Mitigation – Operational Excellence – Effective Project Execution – Disciplined Capital Allocation.

 

- Energean has been operating in Egypt since 2010, how do you see the Egyptian activity and what are your next plans in Egypt?

 

Egypt is a key country for the production and transportation of gas in the region and Energean is strongly committed to the country. Apart from the producing Abu Qir field, we are also looking forward to the development of Python and Yazzi, the two fields in the 100% owned and operated by Edison NEA concession, and Idku. We are also excited to explore, discover and develop the potential of concessions such as the North Thekah and we are confident that the Egyptian market will provide us with further opportunities in the M&A front too.

 

I would like to highlight here the importance of the East Med Gas Forum in which Egypt plays a crucial role. We participated in the first Gas Industry Advisory Committee (GIAC) meeting held in Cairo and we believe that , in collaboration with the governments of Egypt, Italy, Israel, Greece, Jordan, Lebanon, Cyprus, the Palestinian Authority and the operators in the region, we can achieve to enhance competitiveness, optimize infrastructure and harmonize regulation, whilst building a sustainable, cost-efficient energy market for the benefit of the economies in the region, the companies and the populations.

 

- Can you talk about the great energy transition with a company evolving from 100% oil producer to a gas focused company?

 

Energean started as a 100 per cent oil producer and has a clear strategy to play a role in the energy transition. Following the Edison E&P acquisition, 80% of Energean’s reserves and production are natural gas. We are committed to the Science Based Targets Initiative for reducing our greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Science Based Targets criteria across our value-chain activities, by adopting in the following two years a medium term plan with a duration of 5 to 15 years.

Our commitment to the environment was underlined by Energean being one of the first E&P companies to commit to become a net zero emitter by 2050 and to run an ambitious near term plan to reduce our GHG emissions intensity across scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by more than 70% in just three years from now.

We also strive to meet United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals through our day-to-day operations and a wide range of CSR initiatives. Ethos, a Greek word, is at the heart of Energean and we strongly believe that it is Our World we operate in and Our Responsibility to make sure that this World will be a better place for our children to live in.

 

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