Minister: Greece will launch gas exploration bid on Friday

The Greek energy minister announced that Greece will hold a tender on Friday for new rights to explore gas in its southwest waters after a U.S. oil company, Chevron, expressed interest.

Chevron has submitted its non-binding expression of interest in exploring for energy on a deep sea block located south of the Peloponnese Peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea.

Theodore Skylakakis, Energy Minister of Greece, told Greek Radio that the tender process would begin today. He added that the winner would be announced by the end the year.

The Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company of Greece (HEREMA), in a Wednesday statement, said that once the tender has been published in the government gazette Chevron and other interested investors have three months to make binding offers.

ExxonMobil has led a consortium that is evaluating seismic data in the area of interest, which borders two licensed blocks offshore of Crete. Skylakakis stated that Exxon will likely complete any exploration drilling in the area later this year.

Greece has increased its renewable energy capacity, but it still heavily relies on Russian gas to generate electricity. This is part of an EU push to move away from Russian oil and gas after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The discovery of significant reserves of gas off the coasts Egypt and Crete has fueled hopes that Greek waters may also hold gas. (Reporting and editing by David Goodman.)

(source: Reuters)