EU eyes gas pipelines from Egypt
The European Union said it was progressing with efforts to secure gas supplies from Egypt and Iraq as part of its efforts to reduce its heavy dependence on Russian oil and gas.
The European Commission ruled out on Monday the possibility of linking Russia up to the Nabucco gas pipeline, stressing that Europe would stick to its aim of diversifying EU supplies.
Nabucco, which is supposed to supply the bloc with gas from the Caspian Sea region by 2012-2013 while bypassing Russia, lies at the heart of the European Union s diversification strategy.
Russia is working with its own project, South Stream, EU Energy Commissioner Andris Pielbalgs told reporters hours after meeting Russian Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko.
They have never expressed any wish to join Nabucco, Pielbalgs said.
He said there were currently no discussions between Russia s Gazprom and the Nabucco consortium and we should not speculate on issues that are not on the agenda.
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner also excluded the possibility of linking Russia up to the Nabucco network.
It s of high strategic interest and importance that we keep to our strategic goal of diversification, not just other resources but also other pipelines, she said, announcing that Egypt would contribute some two billion cubic metres of gas per year to the pipeline from 2010.
Russia will always be an important supplier but we also have big countries around that have potentially very big reserves and they need to develop their reserves, she said.
The consortium behind Nabucco has struggled to get construction underway in the absence of enough investors amid fears that the EU will not find the 30 billion cubic metres of gas per year necessary for it to be viable.
Against that backdrop, former head of the International Energy Agency Claude Mandil said in April that Russia should be associated with Nabucco, which enjoys US backing. -AFP
Egyptian border guards kill Nigerian, injure 4 Sudanese trying to sneak into Israel
Security and medical officials say Egyptian police have shot and killed a Nigerian man who was trying to cross illegally into Israel.
The security official says the guards also shot three Sudanese men and one woman who were also trying to sneak into Israel on Tuesday, but they were not killed.
He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Imad Kharboush of El-Arish Hospital says the four Sudanese have bullet wounds, and one additional Sudanese woman who was also arrested has superficial scratches.
The security official says the five Sudanese were trying to cross into Israel south of the Rafah crossing, while the Nigerian was attempting to sneak into the Jewish state even further south. All were seeking jobs in Israel. -AP
Eye on the market
Lecico Egypt S.A.E. reported a 26 percent higher first-quarter net profit driven by sales in Egypt and the Middle East, Thomson Financial reported.
The company posted a first-quarter net profit of LE 29.6 million. It also reported a 14 percent increase in revenues over the same period to reach LE 264.1 million.
According to Thomson Financia, the company attributed this increase to its marginal price hikes in most markets, a favorable exchange rate environment, efficiency improvements in its manufacturing process and a continued focus on cost and balance sheet control.
Investors snapped up shares of Egyptian oil support company Maridive & Oil Services on Monday, pushing it 49 percent above its public offering price in its trading debut, Reuters reported.
Maridive sold shares at $3.52 each in an initial public offering last month. An earlier private offer was more than 30 times subscribed. The shares last traded on Monday at $5.25, the news agency said. A lot of institutions got a low allocation and they are trying to buy more now, Mohamed Radwan, trader at Pharos Securities, told Reuters.
Egypt s Orascom Hotels and Development posted a 129 percent rise in net profit for the first quarter of 2008 to reach LE 82.09 million, compared to LE 35.89 million in the same period last year. The company reported 61 percent increase in total revenues.
Hill, Egypt s Talaat Moustafa agree joint venture
US-based Hill International Inc and Egyptian developer Talaat Moustafa Group said on Monday they had formed a joint venture for construction projects in the Middle East, Reuters reported.
Hill International will manage Talaat Moustafa projects including luxury hotels in Egypt and housing developments in Saudi Arabia, the two companies said, according to the news agency. Each company will own half of the joint venture, to be based in Cairo.
Talaat Moustafa is currently building a Four Seasons hotel in the southern town of Luxor and expanding another in Sharm El-Sheikh. It is also building a housing development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with 5,000 residences.
