The Ministry of Environment and Energy on Wednesday announced that it has accepted an expression of interest submitted by the U.S. company Chevron to carry out hydrocarbon exploration in two new marine areas, South Crete I and South Crete II. The leadership of the ministry is to immediately proceed with the issuance of a relevant decision, accepting the expression of interest, as well as decisions that will determine the exact coordinates of the area, the type of contract and the announcement of an international tender.
The environment and energy ministry spoke of “another important development that strengthens the country’s efforts to utilise its national energy resources and competitive advantages, for the benefit of all citizens.”
Chevron, which is the world’s second largest private energy company, had already expressed a similar interest recently – and reaffirmed it on Wednesday – for the marine area South of the Peloponnese, which had been accepted by the former energy minister, Theodoros Skylakakis.
The new plots for which interest was expressed are located within the boundaries of the areas, as published by the Greek government with the announcement of the relevant international tender in 2014 and the Strategic Environmental Impact Study has already been approved.
The environment and energy ministry also noted that:
Greece will now enter the international markets with four new areas for concession. These are the areas “Block A2”, “South of the Peloponnese”, “South of Crete 1” and “South of Crete 2”, with a total area of 47 thousand square kilometers, which essentially double the area of active marine areas for exploration. The increase in plots available for exploration strengthens and multiplies the chances of identifying commercially exploitable deposits.
