Greece and ExxonMobil Sign Hydrocarbon Agreement in the Ionian Sea

Strategic Agreement Between Greece and ExxonMobil

According to the Greek News Agency (AMNA), a historic agreement was signed for hydrocarbon exploration in Block 2 of the Ionian Sea during the Transatlantic Energy Cooperation Partnership (P-TEC) meeting held in Athens.

Energean-Helleniq Energy Consortium

According to the signed agreement, ExxonMobil will hold a 60% stake in the Energean-Helleniq Energy consortium, which will conduct the hydrocarbon exploration activities.

Key Figures and Future Plans

This agreement, attended by U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, U.S. Secretary of the Interior and Chair of the National Energy Policy Council Doug Burgum, Greek Minister of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou, U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, along with representatives from ExxonMobil, Helleniq Energy, and Energean, aims to initiate the first drilling operations for hydrocarbon exploration in Greece after nearly 40 years.

Date Set for Exploration Drilling

According to the plans, the exploration drilling is expected to take place in Block 2 west of Corfu Island in the Ionian Sea by March 2026. The last hydrocarbon exploration in Greece was conducted in 1986 in the Thermaic Gulf, south of Thessaloniki.