Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou on Tuesday stressed the importance of countries being able to produce their own energy and reduce dependence on external suppliers in order to strengthen energy security amid an increasingly unstable geopolitical environment.
Speaking to public broadcaster ERT, Papastavrou emphasized the significance of a meeting held on Monday with Chevron and Helleniq Energy, which confirmed the completion of the procedures enabling the US energy giant to participate in a fifth offshore concession in Greece.
The project concerns Block 10, located offshore of the Gulf of Kyparissia in the southern Ionian Sea, where Chevron will partner with Helleniq Energy.
“This is a very positive development because it demonstrates that Greece is on the radar of the world’s two largest energy companies, Chevron and ExxonMobil,” Papastavrou said, and added: “The development of the hydrocarbons sector requires substantial investment and advanced expertise. It must be carried out in accordance with the highest standards to ensure environmental safety.”
He said that if the exploratory drilling campaign by the ExxonMobil-Energean-Helleniq Energy consortium in the northwestern Ionian Sea confirms a commercially viable discovery in February, the development of the block could ultimately generate as much as $10 billion in public revenue for Greece over time.
