Greece aims to finalize by the end of the year an offshore oil and gas exploration contract with U.S. supermajor Chevron and its partner Helleniq Energy, Greek Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou said on Friday.
“We are working intensively with the U.S. company and Helleniq Energy to meet the timetables and conclude the contract within 2025,” Papastavrou told Greek television Action24, as carried by Reuters.
Helleniq Energy has partnered with Chevron and last month submitted a bid to participate in the Greek tender for offshore exploration and production of oil and gas in four offshore areas south of the Peloponnese peninsula and south of the island of Crete.
Greece has been looking to boost its domestic energy supply by installing renewables and boosting offshore gas exploration after the energy crisis of 2022 and the halt of Russian pipeline gas supply to most EU countries.
After the government finalizes the contract with Chevron and Helleniq Energy, the agreement will need to be approved by Greece’s Parliament and a Greek court of auditors, the energy minister said.
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These approvals will be necessary before any seismic surveys can be carried out. The oil companies will then have up to five years to locate potential reserves, and any test drilling would take place no sooner than 2030, Papastavrou added.
Greece has been hoping that its waters could hold giant natural gas resources, similar to the ones discovered in the Eastern Mediterranean offshore Egypt and Israel.
In October of 2024, Greece said that a consortium led by the other U.S. supermajor, ExxonMobil, had successfully completed the first exploration phase southwest of Crete and decided to proceed with the second exploration stage. The second exploration phase is expected to last three years, and its minimum requirement pertains to completing the collection and assessment of 3D seismic data.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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