They’re moving fast seismic exploration in her area Crete from your research vessel ExxonMobil. According to government sources, the news will be published in the coming days. NAVTEX which will widen and extend further south the limits set by the previous NAVTEX, which was released on November 7 and gave the green light for the American oil giant to begin exploration.

A request for an extension of the investigation has been submitted by ExxonMobil to EDEFEP (Hellenic Hydrocarbon and Energy Management Company) and shows the U.S. company’s interest in accelerating its seismic program, which has already been upgraded, to acquire 11,000 kilometers of 2D seismic data in the winter of 2022-2023, compared to the original target of 6,500 kilometers. Information essentially wants EDEYEP and the US company to begin phasing out various phases of the development of the research program to accelerate 3D seismic data acquisition before 2025, which is on schedule. for exploration drilling, which will confirm the presence or absence of deposits similar to the Egyptian Zohr field.

Petronas research

ExxonMobil’s request to EDEFEP indicates the company’s interest in accelerating its hydrocarbon exploration program.

However, the conclusions of a special study presented by the Malaysian oil giant Petronas at the conference International Petroleum Technology Conference, which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to explore the hydrocarbon potential of the region, inspire optimism. The study is based on an analysis of 2D data collected by the Norwegian PGS in 2012 in the Ionian Sea and Crete region. “The interpretation of seismic data indicates the existence of natural gas traps in the area,” he says characteristically of two sites west and southwest of Crete where Exxon-Mobil is conducting seismic surveys in a joint venture with HELLENiQ ENERGY (formerly ELPE). The great interest of the companies already involved in research in Crete and the Ionian Sea (Exxon-Mobil, HELLENiQ ENERGY, Energean) is also confirmed by the fact that during the year they exceeded the minimum investment (20-25 million euros) for which they were concession agreements, by almost 150%.

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However, the uncharted areas of Crete and the Ionian Sea seem to be back on the radar of large multinational corporations that are overestimating the role of natural gas as an intermediate fuel for Europe’s energy transition and energy autonomy. The “gift” has already been made by visits to Athens by executives from US Chevron, which has reportedly signed a confidentiality agreement with HELLENiQ ENERGY for its entry through the purchase of a stake in concessions in Crete and the Ionian Sea. Chevron has been positioning itself in the Southeast Mediterranean region since 2020 after acquiring Noble Energy, which made its first discoveries in Israel and Cyprus. The same information says that Shell is negotiating with Energean to cede the Ioannina land, but its interest is not limited to this site. The Anglo-Dutch oil giant is already developing a field in Albania, in an area that is an extension of the Ioannina geological zone. The final position of the oil companies will largely be judged by factors well aware of how multinationals operate, as well as whether the political will, expressed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to fully investigate the country’s alleged hydrocarbon reserves continues.