ExxonMobil expands survey
ExxonMobil is taking to a more advanced stage of maturity the project of exploring the Greek concessions for the two areas west and southwest of Crete in its joint venture with Helleniq Energy.
A few months before making its decision on whether or not to proceed with exploratory drilling, which is expected by the end of 2024, ExxonMobil has carried out surveys to record the existing condition of the areas, effectively launching the process for the environmental impact study.
The start of the licensing procedures for exploratory drilling could, according to some interpretations, discount the investment decision and certainly the American company’s pursuit of speeding up the licensing times in case it proceeds with drilling.
Last month, US company CSA, a certified partner of ExxonMobli, employed a vessel of EDT Offshore, one of the main providers of equipped vessels and specialized crew for the oil and gas sector in the Eastern Mediterranean, to carry out combined surveys southwest of Crete and south of the Peloponnese. Its primary objective was to record the existing environment and the secondary objective to detect the possible natural presence of hydrocarbons in the surface sediments.
This combined field survey has been, according to information, the second in the year carried out on behalf of the ExxonMobil-Helleniq Energy joint venture. The results of the investigation will be used for the environmental baseline study, which is expected to be submitted to the Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company (EDEYEP) in the next period. They will also be used for the environmental impact study.
The EDT vessel has collected information on, among others, animal characteristics (plankton, phytoplankton, dissolved oxygen, eutrophication indicators, microfauna, etc.), salinity, PH, particulates, heavy metals, existing hydrocarbons (from natural sources, ships, cargo etc.) etc. In addition, sediment samples have been obtained, which will be geochemically analyzed.
With this particular methodology, as EDEYEP officials have explained to Kathimerini, samples of surface sediments are collected and analyzed in order to establish whether natural micro-leakages of gases are detected, depending on the sample.
