Oil and gas producer Energean will aim for a big discovery of hydrocarbons off western Greece where the first test drilling could take place as early as next year, CEO Mathios Rigas said on Wednesday.
ExxonMobil last year joined Energean and Greece's biggest oil refiner Helleniq Energy to explore for natural gas in the Ionian Sea as the United States seeks a growing role in helping Europe replace much of the Russian gas following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
"We are aiming for a big discovery but it will mean nothing if the first drilling is not successful," said Rigas in a ceremony in Athens where Energean mandated Sweden's Stena Drilling to drill the first well.
The drilling in Block 2, an area extending across 1,000 square kilometres, is the first deep-sea test drilling in Greece in almost 40 years and could take place in February 2027 once permits are secured, Rigas said.
The "Asopos" structure could carry recoverable deposits of gas and oil of six to seven-trillion cubic feet and the likelihood of success was about 16 per cent, he added.
"The chances are very good," he said, adding that the development would involve a floating offshore facility to link subsea wells to Greece and Italy.
Greece now produces only very small quantities of oil and any discovery of gas will help the country cover both domestic demand and start exporting to Europe.
(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
