Papastavrou: Greece enters new era with offshore hydrocarbon leases

Greece is strengthening in an economic sense, in energy and geopolitically, Minister of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou said after Chevron and HELLENiQ Energy signed concession agreements, as a consortium, for hydrocarbon exploration and production at four offshore blocks. The deals are marking a new era of national confidence and determination, he stressed.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ government firmly supports energy realism in Greece and Europe and pursues a path of balanced sustainable development of the country’s strategic advantages, Minister of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou said. In a speech a ta presentation of lease agreements awarded to the consortium of Chevron and HELLENiQ Energy, he highlighted investments in natural gas pipelines, liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, interconnections, networks, renewables and energy digitalization.

For the first time after almost 25 years, the country is becoming an important net electricity exporter, the minister noted. With the latest deals, Greece inaugurated a new era of national confidence and determination, Papastavrou added.

They are making the country a potential producer of natural gas for the benefit of its citizens and Europe, for the current and future generations, he asserted.

“There is no room for inaction. We live in an environment that is constantly changing and tested and is characterized by instability. Therefore, these energy agreements make Greece stronger, more self-sufficient, with a broader strategic role in the Eastern Mediterranean region,” the minister said after the event.

Separately, he underscored that the country is strengthening in an economic sense, in energy and geopolitically. The entry of Chevron, based in the United States, is a “de facto cancellation” of the deal between Turkey and Libya, in his view.

Chevron may reportedly join HELLENiQ Energy in another block

The four new lease agreements are going to the Hellenic Parliament for ratification next month. Chevron has a 70% interest in the venture. Lot A2 borders the block called South of Peloponnese, while the remaining pair are South of Crete 1 and South of Crete 2. Altogether, they span 47,000 square kilometers.

Exploration activities are expected to begin in the second half of the year.

Energypress learned that the two companies are examining the possibility of expanding cooperation to block 10 in the Gulf of Kyparissia. HELLENiQ Energy, the lone concessionaire, has the same arrangement for the Ionian block. It earlier acknowledged that it was open to a partnership.

Exploration drilling in block 10 is scheduled for the second quarter of 2028. The area of 2,400 square kilometers borders A2.

Large upstream players prefer large exploration areas, the article adds. The three in question make up a single zone of 14,200 square kilometers.

Monetizing such deepwater energy resources is costly, but Chevron is well versed in challenging offshore areas.

First exploratory drilling expected in first half of 2027

ExxonMobil is preparing for the first exploratory drilling in more than four decades, set for the first half of next year.

Within its Greek concessions, it cooperates also with HELLENiQ Energy, and Energean. The latter is the operator of oil and gas fields Prinos, Prinos North and Epsilon, the only active complex in Greece. Energean’s subsidiary EnEarth is about to turn Prinos into a permanent carbon dioxide storage reservoir.