Greece gives go-ahead for oil and gas exploration in the west of the country
On the 28th February, Greece’s parliament gave the go-ahead for companies including France’s Total and Italy’s Edison to explore for oil and gas in the west of the country.
Licences for four blocks – one offshore and three on land – were awarded in 2016 but had to be ratified by parliament for exploration work to begin.
Encouraged by recent large gas finds in the eastern Mediterranean, Greece is eager to attract investment in its energy sector as it tries to emerge from years of economic crisis.
Western Greece is an underexplored area and very little data exists on its hydrocarbon potential.
A Total-led consortium with Edison and Greece’s biggest oil refiner Hellenic Petroleum was awarded Block 2 in the Ionian Sea; Hellenic Petroleum was also awarded the Arta-Preveza and north-western Peloponnese onshore blocks and Energean, Greece’s only oil producer, the Aitoloakarnania onshore block.
Hellenic Petroleum holds an exploration licence in the Patraikos Gulf off the Peloponnese peninsula and plans the first test drilling there in 2019.
Energean also plans to start drilling in another field off the peninsula in 2019.
Source: Energy-pedia