Chevron Advances Hydrocarbon Exploration in Greece – International Bidding to Follow

The exact geographical boundaries of the two offshore drilling sites south of Crete for Chevron’s hydrocarbon exploration have been defined by a ministerial decision from the Ministry of Environment and Energy, published yesterday in the Government Gazette. This move takes the ministry another step closer to conducting an international bidding process, which is scheduled to be completed by 2025. It’s worth noting that Chevron has expressed interest in an area south of the Peloponnese and the two specific sites south of Crete to conduct natural gas research. According to the ministry’s decision, the ‘Lease Agreement’ for the marine areas ‘South of Crete 1’ and ‘South of Crete 2’ has been approved as the method of exercising the aforementioned public rights for hydrocarbon exploration and extraction. These two sites are depicted as follows in the ministerial decision: This marks the second major American oil company entering Greece after ExxonMobil, which, together with HELLENiQ Energy, has taken on exploratory efforts west and southwest of Crete. The regions explored by Exxon-HLLENiQ and Chevron in the Peloponnese area are outlined below. The next step for Chevron’s exploration is the publication of the tender in the EU Official Journal, expected by late April according to statements from the leadership of the Ministry of Environment and Energy. An official expression of interest event will follow by the end of August, after which the Greek Parliament will ratify the agreements. Additionally, it’s important to mention that outside of Greece, Chevron already has a significant presence in the Eastern Mediterranean. In Cyprus, it holds rights to the Aphrodite field jointly with Shell and NewMedEnergy. Recently, Chevron announced the initiation of deep-sea research for an underwater pipeline connecting the field to Egypt for natural gas export. Concurrently, in Israel, Chevron owns 39.6% of the Leviathan field and 25% of Tamar. Similarly, it holds stakes in Egypt’s Offshore Zone and specifically in the Herodotus Basin, which it considers promising for future discoveries.