Greece is making major strides in energy sector
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the signing of concession contracts for hydrocarbon exploration in four marine areas south of Crete and south of the Peloponnese in the Chevron-Hellenic Energy joint venture as a leap forward in the energy sector.
The signing of the agreements took place at the Maximos Mansion. Mitsotakis pointed out that “a few months ago we announced that we would proceed with the first exploration effort.”
As he emphasized, the four offshore blocks that Chevron and Helleniq Energy will explore cover a very large area.
Mitsotakis underlined that Greece understands the role that hydrocarbons play and pointed out that the country is emerging as an alternative energy hub.
He also spoke of new opportunities for the country. “We believe that the vertical corridor is a good alternative to Russian gas,” he pointed out.
47,000 sq. km. and seismic surveys in a year
The signing comes 18 months after the expression of interest that activated the tender process and less than a year after the publication in the Government Gazette (April 30, 2025) as the government has pointed out that the acceleration of the procedures was a key factor in attracting international investment interest.
The Minister of Environment and Energy, Stavros Papastavrou, has recently underlined that the country must “with confidence and a plan” investigate whether the potential deposits are commercially exploitable.
The four areas cover a total area of approximately 47,000 square kilometers. The first seismic surveys are scheduled to begin before the end of the year, with the aim of identifying potential geological structures that could host natural gas or oil deposits.
The surveys may also be combined with work in other areas, as a large international seismic company has recently expressed interest. If promising targets emerge from the seismic data, the next step will be exploratory drilling, which is the decisive stage in confirming the existence and size of a deposit.
