Kuwait-based company involved in containers project in Damietta The Kuwait News Agency reported that the international KGL transport company declared on Thursday it laid the corner stone of a new containers station in the Egyptian port of Damietta and that the facility would open in November 2008. The Kuwait-based company said in a statement that construction work of piers would end by July 2009, and that the station s capacity was projected at four million containers per year. The site will be one of the largest in the world with a capacity to accommodate containers of gigantic tankers. The KGL is an offspring of Stevedoring and Port Service Companies which were the pioneers in ports work and handling of cargo in the 60s. The capital of the ISO 9001 company reportedly exceeds 7.26 million dinars. The KGL has a total experience in stevedoring service in Kuwait and the Middle East. It has facilities for storing cargo and protecting goods from sun, rain, and other weather conditions. Rachid welcomes Gulf investments Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid was in Kuwait on Monday to welcome investments coming from Gulf countries in various fields, reported the Kuwait News Agency. He then visited the United Arab Emirates to push forward and promotion of economic ties between the two countries. During the visit, Rachid said he will deliver a message from President Hosni Mubarak to UAE counterpart Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on the sidelines of his participation in the four-day International Business Forum in Abu Dhabi. He stressed that the coming stage will witness the strengthening of economic relations between the UAE and Egypt, both in the bilateral trade and joint investment, pointing out that the economy of the two countries has significant capacity can be increased. The two countries, he said, can strengthen cooperation in various fields and achieve economic integration in a number of sectors. Rachid looked forward to the participation of Egyptian contracting companies in the architectural renaissance and infrastructure development taking place in the Emirates today. He delivered a speech in the Forum addressing changes and challenges of global economic and its impact on the Arab economy. The total volume of bilateral trade between the two countries was quoted at $535.5 million this past year. Enterprise Ireland embarks on trade mission to Egypt Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin is leading Enterprise Ireland s largest trade mission to Egypt, comprising 18 companies from a diverse range of sectors, reported the Irish Emigrant. The aim of the three-day visit is to enhance trade links between Egypt and Ireland and facilitate meetings between indigenous Irish companies and potential trading partners in the Middle East and North African markets. Bilateral trade between Ireland and Egypt was valued at 100 million euros in 2006, with Irish companies increasing their sales in Egypt by 26 percent during the same period. Growth can accelerate further over the next few years as Egypt offers significant market potential for Irish companies, particularly in software development, financial services, construction, education and public sector/utilities, said Minister Martin ahead of the visit. India, Egypt approves extradition treaty Earthtimes.org reported that India and Egypt approved Friday the signing and ratification of an extradition treaty, which will provide a legal framework for seeking extradition of terrorists, economic offenders and other criminals between the two countries. At its meeting Friday morning, the Indian cabinet also approved an agreement with Cambodia to transfer foreign convicted prisoners to their home countries and prisoners of Indian origin to be brought to India to serve the remaining part of their sentence. An official spokesperson said, The decision will enable the prisoners to be near their families and will help in the process of their social rehabilitation. Melrose Resources provides Egyptian operations update Melrose Resources plc, an oil and gas exploration, development and production company, announced that first production was established at the West Dikirnis field in the onshore Nile Delta on Nov. 30. The field development was completed within 12 months of project sanction and came in under budget. The initial production stream is from the West Dikirnis No.2 well and it is anticipated that output from the field will reach a 10,000 barrels of oil per day by the end of the year as additional wells are opened for production. The EDC-53 drilling rig has recently completed operations on the Buhut No.1 well targeting a Qawasim exploration prospect located on the El Mansoura concession. The well encountered good reservoir sands with minor gas shows but was not considered to be commercially viable as a producer and has been plugged and abandoned. The drilling rig is now moving to drill another Qawasim prospect, West Zahira, which has unrisked mean reserves of 124 billion cubic feet of gas plus hydrocarbon liquids potential and an estimated 30 percent chance of success. The EDC-9 drilling rig draw works were damaged during transportation between drilling locations. While this has caused delays to the drilling program in the short term, a replacement draw works has been sourced and is expected to be installed by February 2008. In light of this, a third drilling rig has been contracted to start operations on the El Mansoura concession during the first quarter of 2008 and any lost time in the drilling program will be made up in the first half of 2008. David Thomas, chief executive, said, "Bringing the West Dikirnis field on production is a significant milestone for Melrose. This is a high quality field which will transform the cash generation of the business in 2008 and beyond. The Melrose team has worked cohesively with our Egyptian joint operating company and again demonstrated our ability to bring fields on stream very rapidly after discovery.
