Hydrocarbon concessions for Crete & Ionian to be completed by year's end

The consortium of Total, ExxonMobil and Hellenic Petroleum (ELPE) is interested in the area west and southwest of Crete, and that of Repsol and ELPE in the Ionian Sea.

If an agreement is reached on the concession terms, the contracts will need to be signed by the minister of Environment and Energy and approved by the Court of Auditors before proceeding to Parliament for ratification. Bassias said the target was to have completed the whole process by year-end.

The abovementioned areas are considered high risk and high output because of the great sea depth. This raises the cost of drilling, but it is hoped that by the time the consortia are ready to drill in a few years, technological advances will allow drilling at depths greater than 3,000m, HHRM said.

In terms of developments in the western Greek city of Ioannina, where explorations have raised protests, the company said that the program has already been delayed by a year, at a great cost.