Energean Oil & Gas has announced that it has signed a lease
agreement with the Greek government for the exploration and exploitation
of hydrocarbons at the Aitoloakarnania block, onshore western Greece.
Aitoloakarnania is an underexplored block covering 4,360 km² and is
part of the same system commonly referred to as the Ionian basin. The
area is a geological continuation of the Ioaninna block, which has been
explored by Energean since 2014. Both blocks cover a total of 8,547 km²
and are priority exploration targets for Energean and strategically
important for the Greek oil & gas sector. The area is also
considered to be the southern-most extension of the greater
peri-Adriatic basin, which has proven prolific with oil and gas
production in Albania, Italy, and Croatia. In total, over 10 Bbbl of oil
and 30 Tcfg have been discovered throughout this region.
Mathios Rigas, chairman and CEO of Energean Group, commented:
"Energean is the only producer of oil & gas in Greece where we are
developing the 41 MMbbl of 2P reserves in Prinos. In addition, Energean
is developing through an FPSO the 2.4 Tcf Karish and Tanin, deepwater
offshore gas fields in Israel, and to complement our producing and
development assets we are building a very promising exploration
portfolio in Western Greece and the East Adriatic. We are investing a
total of $1.5 billion in the region with a vision to become the leading
independent in the East Med.
Exploring Ioannina and Aitolokarnania is an integral part of our
strategy to create near-term value through acquiring and developing a
balanced mix of assets in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Due to our
relevant geographical experience, Energean has been able to acquire nine
highly prospective licenses in this region and partner with world-class
players.”
In March 2017, Energean agreed to farm out a 60% interest in
Ioannina and Aitoloakarnania blocks to Repsol, which will be the
Operator of both the Aitoloakarnania and Ioannina blocks, onshore
Western Greece. The two companies have already submitted an application
to the Greek Government to approve Repsol’s plans to farm in and
undertake a 2D seismic survey over the Ioannina block in 2017-2018, and
conduct an FTG and 2D seismic survey over the Aitoloakarnania block in
2018/2019.
(www.worldoil.com)