The Hellenic Hydrocarbon Resources Management S.A. (HHRM S.A.), the independent company owned by the Hellenic Republic that oversees and manages Greece’s oil & gas exploration & production, investor relations and a growing portfolio of international energy infrastructure projects announced the appointment of Rikard Scoufias as the new chairman of the board of directors, as well as Aristofanis Stefatos as the company’s new chief executive officer (CEO).

The appointments by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, follows the nomination by Greece’s energy minister Kostis Hatzidakis and endorsement by the Special Permanent Committee on Institutions and Transparency of the Hellenic Parliament. In a statement, the Minister of Environment and Energy, Kostis Hatzidakis, noted that the appointments “mark a new chapter for the company, which now has an expanded object following the absorption of a number of International trans-boundary gas pipeline projects, such as the Greek-Bulgarian (IGB) pipeline, IGI Poseidon and East Med – projects supported by inter-governmental agreements between several countries in the Mediterranean region that will strengthen European security of supply as well as Greece’s role as a protagonist nexus in some of the region’s most important strategic developments”.

The newly appointed chairman, Mr. Rikard Scoufias, who joins the company in a non-executive capacity from a distinguished energy and extractives career in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa comments: «This is an important moment in the history of HHRM. Strong corporate governance, especially environmental and social governance (ESG), is in unprecedented focus, nowhere more so than the energy and extractive sectors. It is a privilege to be asked to lead such an eminent board of directors, with distinguished careers from Greece, Norway, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Denmark and the United Kingdom and we all look forward to work closely with the executive team and to guide the company into this new chapter of growth and continued success».

Mr. Aristofanis Stefatos, HHRM’s newly appointed CEO who returns to Greece following a successful executive career in Norway’s oil and gas industry where he served as COO, CEO and in non-executive roles says: «Τhe opportunities that hydrocarbon exploration and production offer Greece are significant. By securing these opportunities today, we position the country for the widest possible strategic choices for the future – including the delivery of Greece’s committed plans for alternative energies and long-term decarbonisation. We will achieve this ensuring that HHRM is widely recognised as an efficient, transparent and dedicated partner to investors and all stakeholders, whilst at the same time holding those partners to the highest international environmental and social standards».