London event to showcase hydrocarbon blocks
By Chryssa Liaggou
In cooperation with the Greek Embassy in London and the ESCP Europe
Business School’s Research Center for Energy Management (RCEM), the
government in Athens is preparing a major showcase event in the British
capital next week to present the blocks to be conceded for hydrocarbon
exploration in the Ionian Sea and south of Crete.
Invitations have
been sent to over 500 representatives of oil companies, embassies and
energy groups for the “Greece Offshore Licensing Round 2014” event on
July 1 and 2, organized by Greece’s Environment and Energy Ministry with
the support by the Greek Energy Forum, Natural Gas Europe and the ESCP
Europe Business School. Up to a few days ago over 100 had already
expressed an interest in attending, a figure which is expected to
increase further by the deadline at the end of the month.
At the
event Energy Minister Yiannis Maniatis, along with the ministry’s team
for the ambitious project headed by Sofia Stamataki, the president of
Hellenic Hydrocarbon Resources Management (EDEY), will present the first
concessions for survey as well as utilization in Greece since 1996.
Sources
have told Kathimerini that this first major round of concessions will
include between 12 and 15 blocks. They are based on the interpretation
of the seismic data collected by Norwegian company PGS Geo-Services. PGS
has confirmed the original estimates concerning some interesting
reserves in the Ionian Sea. The blocks are now ready on the map and
according to the same sources have been formally recognized by a meeting
on Wednesday between Maniatis and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign
Minister Evangelos Venizelos.
Some of the officials involved in
the block-defining project described the process of drawing up the final
details as particularly difficult as it took 50 parameters into
account, the most important being the sea depth and the environmental
conditions based on a strategic study by the Center for Planning and
Economic Research (KEPE). This was necessary to avoid any
environmentally sensitive areas as well as to adhere to agreements with
neighboring countries such as that between Greece and Italy in 1977
concerning the two countries’ territorial waters in the Ionian.
A
key parameter involved avoiding the creation particularly attractive
blocks for concession in an effort to mix areas of high expectations
with some of those seen to have a lower potential, for fear of having
any remain unclaimed.
Another concern in securing investment
interest was whether the barrier should be placed high, by setting
criteria favoring oil industry giants, or allow small or medium-sized
companies to participate in the tender too. The former idea was based on
the fact that the seismic data have already been purchased by France’s
Total and two more major companies, while there have also been repeated
expressions of interest from firms such as ConocoPhillips, Statoil, BP,
Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Noble and others. According to the first
idea, the tender should include a criterion on proven experience in a
strong financial report. The other, however, means that if the major
companies choose not to enter the process, Athens would have already
have left out the smaller firms.
The winning idea will become
clear once the terms of the tender are published in the Official Journal
of the European Union, right after the presentation in London next
month. |
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