PM Kyriakos Mitostakis announced the upgrade of the projects for hydrocarbon exploration to the highest priority, after the meeting at the offices of the Hellenic Hydrocarbon Resources Management S.A. (HHRM S.A.) with the participation and management of Hellenic Petroleum S.A (ELPE).

During his speech, the Prime Minister referred to “significant uncertainty in the lives of all of us” due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, noting that significant burdens and painful rises in costs of energy and basic necessities have eaten away at the income of every household.

The Prime Minister added that steps would be taken to expedite the mapping of the existence of possible gas fields in Greece by the end of 2023. “If we have significant fields, we will replace imports with our national wealth,” he said, addressing a meeting with officials of the HHRM S.A. and executives of the energy sector.

“Everyone in Europe and Greece realises that we are experiencing the end of an era,” said Kyriakos Mitsotakis, noting that all were becoming aware of the importance of energy autonomy and security in a world that is changing rapidly and becoming more precarious.

Speaking about the needs of our country, he said that it should achieve a reduction in dependence on Russian gas and proceed with the exploration for alternatives to fossil fuels such as natural gas, which are currently the only way for our country. “This new road does not take us away from the long-term goals of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, it is simply an alternative path imposed by political realism,” he said.

“We must increase the supply of gas from alternative sources, such as LNG, such as Eastmed, we must increase LNG storage capacity and we must decide whether Greece in this new energy landscape will be only a gas storage hub or a producing country”, noted the Prime Minister.

As Mitsotakis stressed, “we announced the acceleration of exploration for the extraction of natural gas that our country is likely to have in significant quantities based on preliminary studies, both on the mainland and in the sea, in areas of exclusive exploitation.”

The focus is on gas fields in offshore areas and not on oil reserves or land “plots”, while the aim is to speed up processes in line with the model of countries in the region, such as Egypt, which has implemented rapid procedures for both exploration and the start of hydrocarbon production.

According to the PM, the investigations focus on six areas. One is in mainland Greece in the region of Epirus and the other five in sea areas. In the Ionian, in the Gulf of Kyparissia and in Crete.

As Minister of the Environment and Energy of Greece Kostas Skrekas stated the Ministry will immediately take the following steps:

1. Set up a new task force will be set up to monitor the progress of investigations.
2. Take legislative initiatives to expedite exploration timetables.
3. A letter will be sent to the concessionaires by HHRM S.A. that will inform them about the intention of the government to accelerate the investigations for the identification and exploitation of natural gas deposits.