The European Union Gazette on Thursday published an invitation for an international tender for offshore test drillings in the Ionian Sea and south of the island of Crete. This means that the interested oil companies will have to submit their bids by May 2015, within six months after the publication of the tender. This will be followed by an evaluation of the bids over a three-month period, followed by another three months of negotiation.

The tender is for 20 sea blocks, ranging in size between 1,801 to 9,543 square kilometers in areas where the sea allows for drilling. 2012 data is available for investors in Athens, oslo, Singapore and Houston.

Successful bidders are to be announced in November 2015.