PM announces six areas for accelerated hydrocarbon exploration
One land area and five offshore areas have been selected for the accelerated hydrocarbon exploration process according to a statement by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday during a meeting held at the Hellenic Hydrocarbon Resources Management company. Concessions for hydrocarbon exploration in these areas have already been awarded in the past.
The six areas are northwest of the island of Corfu, in the Ionian Sea, in the Gulf of Kyparissia and in the sea west and southwest of Crete, as well as in the regional unit of Ioannina.
The consortium conducting the exploration around the island of Crete is comprised of the companies Total, ExxonMobil and Hellenic Petroleum, while an Energean-Hellenic Petroleum consortium is operating near Corfu. Hellenic Petroleum (HELPE) is active in the Gulf of Kyparissia and Energean in Ioannina.
The other land areas in Western Greece where concessions for hydrocarbon exploration were previously given (Etoloakarnania, Arta, Preveza and northwest Peloponnese) were returned to the Greek state, while an offshore area in the gulf west of Patra, where surveys showed the existence of oil and not natural gas, will probably also be returned to the Greek state. [AMNA]
