Greece will invite bids by private operators to search for oil and natural gas in its west, aiming to cut its energy imports bill, an official told Reuters.
Debt-laden Greece spends between 10 and 12 billion euros ($16.61 billion) a year on oil imports, about 5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). It produces just a few thousand barrels of oil a day in the northern Aegean Sea, dependent more than most other EU nations on oil and gas imports.
By the end of spring, it will update its law on hydrocarbon exploration and production and set up a new authority to govern licensing, Yannis Maniatis, deputy minister for Energy and Climate Change, said in an interview. "I understand that the new authority will recommend that a first licensing round be held," he said. "I estimate that 4-5 blocks will be put out for licensing, the authority will receive instructions to start with western Greece because mature scientific data already exist for that area."
The first contractors to conduct seismic and geological research in the area, maybe even the first test drills, will be picked within the next 18 to 24 months, Maniatis said. "Based on the unprocessed and fragmented data that exists, Greece can cover part of its oil and natural gas needs from own resources," said Maniatis. "In some years, this could reach one fifth to one quarter (of total consumption)," he added.
Greece consumes about 120 million barrels of oil and 4 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually.