LONDON: Egypt’s economy has received a major boost since gas from Zohr, the Mediterranean’s largest offshore field, began to be pumped ashore in Port Said city at the end of last year.
Zohr is one of the most positive energy stories to hit the Middle East recently and a boon to Egypt in particular as the development by Italian operator ENI means the country is close to reaching gas self-sufficiency.
Zohr should wipe out the need for Egypt to buy in expensive foreign gas, thereby bolstering its depleted foreign exchange reserves, and could one day make the country a net exporter to countries throughout the region and, perhaps, beyond.
Mohamed Abu Basha, Cairo-based economist at investment bank EFG-Hermes, told Bloomberg: “One of the biggest issues Egypt had over the past years was the big shift in its energy balance from a net exporter to a net importer because of an increase in consumption versus a decline in production.
“With the new gas finds, it’s returning to this balance, if not exporting, then at least there’s no deficit,” he added.
Egyptian Oil Minister Tarek El-Molla has said initial production will be 350 million cubic feet per day, rising to 1 billion cubic feet in June and 2.7 billion by the end of 2019.
Egypt had to give up gas exports in 2014 to meet local demand and because sporadic sabotage on its main pipeline in the Sinai Desert disrupted shipments.
Zohr, with an estimated reserve of about 850 billion cubic meters of natural gas in place, is expected to close the gap between supply and demand, helping to end Egypt’s reliance on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) next year, Bloomberg reported.
The offshore field is expected to save Egypt some $1 billion annually in gas imports.
Egypt has two LNG plants, which are more or less mothballed, from which to export once production is ramped up.
In a recent statement, BP said: “The development of Zohr in a record time has brought a new critical source of energy to the Egyptian market.”
BP added that two other current major projects in Egypt — Atoll and the second phase of the West Nile Delta project — will bring further new gas resources into production. “Together these projects will play an important role in supporting and reshaping Egypt’s energy sector.”
Russia’s state-owned producer Rosneft PJSC closed a deal in October to acquire 30 percent of the Zohr field. BP has also bought a 10 percent stake.
An International Monetary Fund report on Dec. 20 said Egypt’s reform program was yielding encouraging results.
The IMF said: “The economy is showing welcome signs of stabilization, with GDP growth recovering, inflation moderating, fiscal consolidation remaining on track, and international reserves reaching their highest level since 2011.”
The banking system was said to remain resilient to moderate shocks, but although the outlook was viewed as favorable, the IMF said sustained efforts were still required to “maintain prudent policies and advance structural reforms to support the authorities’ medium-term objective of inclusive growth and job creation.”
Zohr gas field fires up the Egyptian economy
Zohr gas field fires up the Egyptian economy
Beterbiev-Bivol rematch date announced in ‘one of the greatest cards ever’
Beterbiev was victorious against Bivol by majority decision in October at IV Crown Showdown in the Saudi capital.
Turki Alalshikh, the head of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, announced the fights and said the event has “one of the greatest cards ever”.
The Riyadh Season event, dubbed “The Last Crescendo” features a stacked card of championship fights including a matchup between Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker for the IBF heavyweight title.
The other under card clashes include:
Shakur Stevenson v Floyd Schofield
Carlos Adams v Hamzah Sheeraz
Vergil Ortiz Jr v Israil Madrimov
Joshua Bautsi v Callum Smith
Zhilei Zhang v Agit Kabayel
Far-right Israeli minister slams ‘coup’ after arrests
- Ben Gvir called the arrests “an attempt to bring me down, me, the government and the prime minister,” Benjamin Netanyahu
JERUSALEM: Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir condemned Monday the arrests of a senior prison official and two police officers linked to him as an attempt to oust him.
The three, who media say are close to Ben Gvir, were arrested on suspicion of bribery, abuse of office and breach of trust, according to reports.
Police have not commented on the arrests.
“This is a coup d’etat... a political decision,” Ben Gvir said in televised comments.
He called the arrests “an attempt to bring me down, me, the government and the prime minister,” Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The decision to investigate police officers and a senior prison service official who are clearly and fully implementing my policy... is a political decision,” Ben Gvir added.
Israeli media said on Monday the prison service official questioned by police was the chief, Kobi Yaakobi, a close friend of Ben Gvir who was appointed in January.
Ben Gvir on Monday posted on his Telegram channel a photo with Yaakobi and the words: “Kobi, we love you.”
Last week the minister gave his “full” support to four people working in his office, who Israeli media said were questioned by police as part of a probe into the alleged issuing of weapons permits illegally.
Ben Gvir also directly attacked Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who had previously provoked the ire of some ministers in the current government.
“In order for the right-wing government to function, without the legal adviser preventing it, we must stop this crazy campaign and legal coup,” Ben Gvir said.
He urged Netanyahu to discuss in Sunday’s cabinet meeting ending Baharav-Miara’s mandate.
In March last year, it was Baharav-Miara who deemed “illegal” one of Netanyahu’s public interventions on proposed judicial system reforms then dividing the country.
Turkiye could benefit from rebel offensive in Syria: experts
- Ankara and Damascus broke off ties in 2011 when the war started with Erdogan backing the militants
ISTANBUL: Turkiye could be one of the big winners from the new Syria crisis, giving it a chance to tackle its Syrian refugee problem and the Kurdish threat along its border, observers say.
Although Syrian President Bashar Assad spurned an offer of help from his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ankara now appears to have an increasingly important role in decisions that will affect Syria’s immediate future.
Omer Ozkizilcik, an Atlantic Council associate researcher in Ankara, said Turkiye has a “complex and difficult relationship” with Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the terrorist alliance that led last week’s militant offensive.
“We can clearly say there was indirect Turkish support (for the offensive) but no direct Turkish involvement,” he told AFP.
Although the attack was due to take place “seven weeks ago... Turkiye stopped the militants from launching this military offensive,” he added.
Assad’s ally Russia has also been “heavily” bombing militants positions in the northwest to stymie an attack on his government.
Charles Lister, an expert at Washington’s Middle East Institute agreed, saying “the Aleppo offensive was initially planned for mid-October but Turkiye put a stop to it.”
It was only after Ankara’s efforts to normalize ties with the Assad goverment were rebuffed as it pushed for a political solution, that Turkiye gave its green light, Ozkizilcik said.
Turkiye has pushed back against the expansion of HTS into the “security zone” in northwest Syria it has carved out for itself, and has put pressure on the radical group to drop its Al-Qaeda affiliation.
It has also pressed it to avoid attacking Christian and Druze minorities, analysts say.
“The HTS of today is not what it was in 2020,” Ozkizilcik said.
Although Turkiye has some influence over the group, Firas Kontar, a Syrian Druze origin and author of “Syria, the Impossible Revolution,” believes Erdogan “no longer has the means to stop HTS.”
Ankara and Damascus broke off ties in 2011 when the war started with Erdogan backing the militants.
However, since late 2022 the Turkish leader has been seeking a rapprochement, saying in July he was ready to host Assad “at any time.”
But Assad said he would only meet if Turkish forces withdrew from Syria.
Ankara is hoping a rapprochement would pave the way for the return of the 3.2 million Syrian refugees still on its soil, whose presence has become a major domestic hot potato.
“Now with the changing situation on the ground, the balance of power in Syria has shifted: Turkiye is the most powerful actor at the moment inside Syria, and Iran and Russia will likely try to negotiate with Turkiye,” Ozkizilcik said.
Since 2016, Turkiye has staged multiple operations against Kurdish forces in northern Syria which has given it a foothold in areas bordering the frontier.
The aim is to oust Kurdish fighters from the border zone, notably the YPG (People’s Protection Units) which are backed by Washington as bulwark against Daesh group terrorists.
But Ankara views the YPG as an extension of the PKK which has fought a decades-long insurgency inside Turkiye and is banned as a terror group by Washington and Brussels.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, pro-Turkiye militans on Sunday seized Tal Rifaat, a town north of Aleppo and the surrounding villages, where some 200,000 Syrian Kurds were living.
Tal Rifaat lies just outside Turkiye’s “security zone” with the move prompting Kurdish residents to flee to a safe zone further east.
Turkiye’s secret service said it had killed a PKK leader in the area.
“Turkiye has already made and probably will make many gains against the YPG terror group to secure its national security,” said Ozkizilcik.
US announces new $725 mn package for Ukraine including more mines
- It includes anti-personnel land mines, ammunition for HIMARS precision rocket launchers, Stinger missiles, counter-drone systems, anti-armor weapons and artillery ammunition, Blinken said in a statement
WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday announced a new $725 million military aid package for Ukraine that features a second tranche of land mines as well as anti-air and anti-armor weapons.
US President Joe Biden’s administration is working against the clock to provide billions of dollars in aid to Kyiv before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, after which future assistance for Ukraine will be in doubt.
Less than two months before Trump is set to be sworn in, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the package was part of efforts “to ensure Ukraine has the capabilities it needs to defend itself against Russian aggression.”
It includes anti-personnel land mines, ammunition for HIMARS precision rocket launchers, Stinger missiles, counter-drone systems, anti-armor weapons and artillery ammunition, Blinken said in a statement.
The United States announced a first shipment of land mines to Ukraine last month — a major policy shift slammed by rights groups.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said that the decision was necessitated by Russian forces leading with dismounted infantry units instead of vehicles.
The Ukrainians “have a need for things that can help slow down that effort on the part of the Russians,” Austin told journalists last month.
The outgoing US administration is working to get as much aid as possible to Ukraine before Trump — who has repeatedly criticized US assistance for Kyiv, claiming he could secure a ceasefire within hours — takes over the presidency.
Trump’s comments have triggered fears in Kyiv and Europe about the future of US aid, and Ukraine’s ability to withstand Russian attacks in the absence of further American support.
On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country needed security guarantees from NATO and more weapons to defend itself before any talks with Russia.
Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said Monday that all remaining US funding for Kyiv would be used.
“At the president’s direction, we will spend every dollar that Congress has appropriated for Ukraine and to replenish our stockpiles,” Ryder told journalists.
Speaking prior to the announcement of the latest package, he put the total aid that can still be drawn from US stockpiles at $6.8 billion, while more than $2.2 billion is available to procure weapons and equipment from the defense industry.
Austin spoke on Monday with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov, providing “an update on the continued surge of US security assistance to Ukraine to provide the capabilities it needs to defend against Russian aggression,” the Pentagon said.
The United States has been a key military backer of Ukraine, committing more than $60 billion in weapons, ammunition and other security aid since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Israel tells residents to evacuate areas of south Gaza
- At least 44,466 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to data provided by the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza
JERUSALEM: The Israeli army called on Monday for some areas of the southern Gaza Strip to be evacuated, warning that Palestinian militants were launching rockets from there.
It is the first such call in weeks relating to the south of the embattled Palestinian territory after the military turned its attention to the north in October.
“Terrorist organizations are once again firing rockets toward the State of Israel from your area,” military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post in Arabic on X, addressing residents of the Khan Yunis area.
“For your safety, you must evacuate the area immediately and move to the humanitarian zone,” he said, sharing a map of the area in question.
Earlier on Monday, the Israeli military said in a statement that “one projectile that crossed into Israeli territory from Khan Yunis was intercepted” by the Israeli air force.
Hamas’s armed wing later claimed responsibility, saying it had fired rockets toward southern Israel.
Israel has destroyed large swathes of Gaza since it launched a retaliatory military offensive following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.
The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
At least 44,466 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to data provided by the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The UN has acknowledged these figures as reliable.
