Greece seeks to finalize Chevron gas exploration contract this year, says minister

Greek officials are working “hard” to finalize a contract with Chevron and its Greek partner Helleniq Energy for energy exploration offshore Greece by the end of the year, according to a recent Reuters report.

Chevron and Helleniq, Greece’s largest oil refiner, submitted a joint bid in a Greek tender this year to look for gas in four deepwater blocks off the Peloponnese peninsula and the island of Crete.

As quoted in the Reuters report, Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou told Greek television Action24 that: “We are working intensively with the US company and Helleniq Energy to meet the timetables and conclude the contract within 2025.”

Greece, which produces very small volumes of oil and relies on hefty gas imports for power generation and domestic consumption, has been looking to increase exploration for gas and bolster its role as a gas transit route. These efforts are part of a European Union push to move away from Russian energy after Moscow invaded Ukraine.

Once the contract with Chevron is finalized, it needs approval from a Greek court of auditors and the parliament before the company can start seismic research in 2026; and it has up to five years to locate potential recoverable deposits, Papastavrou said.

Any eventual test drilling would not come before the 2030-2032 period, he added.