These remarks were made by the managing director of the Greek hydrocarbon management company, Aristophanes Stefanatos, in his statements in the context of presenting the company's results during the last two years.
It is been reminded that ExxonMobil acquired the majority of hydrocarbon exploration rights in the West and South-West areas of Crete, following the withdrawal of the French TotalEnergies. ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies participated initially in the research Consortiums in the two regions with a percentage of 40% and Hellenic Petroleum with the remaining 20%. After the withdrawal of the French company, ExxonMobil acquired 70%, while the percentage of ELPE rose to 30%.
Seismic surveys are pending in the research areas that will provide a first insight into the existence of hydrocarbons. These are areas of 20,058.4 sq.km (West of Crete) and 19,868.37 sq.km (Southwest of Crete).
Mr. Stefatos underlined that the seismics do not give the image of the deposits with absolute certainty, however they give the investors the possibility to decide whether to proceed with exploratory drilling or not. When asked about the appeal to the Council of State that has led to a delay in the investigations, the head of the EDEY said: "if the deposits are real, we are talking about a huge value that will lead to the resolution of some of the most critical national dilemmas. Therefore we consider that it is very important that the investigation proceed. I do not consider the technical and legal details to be so important that they could lead to a diversion from our planning."
