A consortium comprised of partially state-owned Hellenic Petroleum (Hel.Pe), Total and Exxon Mobil has been awarded a concession to begin hydrocarbon exploration in sea blocks west and southwest of Crete, according to a announcement on Tuesday by the relevant environment and energy ministry.
A tender for the concession had been declared in December 2017.
A file covering the entire tender process will be submitted to the Court of Audit for pre-contractual review, followed by the signing of a concession contract between the consortium and the Hellenic Hydrocarbon Resources Management S.A. (HHRM S.A.), yet another round signatures by relevant ministers, and finally, submission to Parliament for ratification.
The first sea region southwest of Crete covers nearly 20,000 square kilometers, while the other, west of the large island, is slightly more than 20,000 kilometers.
