The broader geopolitical uncertainty affecting the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East makes it even more pressing to develop natural gas and oil resources in Europe, Mathios Rigas, chief executive of Energean, said at the 30th Annual National Conference “Energy and Development” organised by the Institute of Energy for South-East Europe (IENE) in Athens.
In a discussion with journalist Haris Floudopoulos, Rigas spoke about the heavy dependence of European markets on natural gas imports and the price volatility driven by geopolitical developments.
“Europe must explore and develop its domestic resources to secure energy supplies and diversify its sources, while also safeguarding its energy independence,” Energean’s chief executive said, citing Israel’s emergence as a self-sufficient energy producer and exporter after 15 years of exploration and development.
The Asopos-1 well
He added that, in this context, the exploration well “Asopos-1”, scheduled to be drilled in Block 2 in the north-western Ionian Sea next April, is particularly important. Energean (30%) is the operator in the consortium, alongside ExxonMobil (60%) and HelleniQ Energy (10%).
“The world’s largest oil and gas exploration and production company is relying on Energean’s expertise and experience for Greece’s first offshore well in 40 years, which is unique. A discovery in Block 2 could make our country energy self-sufficient and create the conditions to supply European markets too,” he said.
Rigas described Asopos-1 as a high-risk well with potentially high returns: the chance of success is 16%, while initial estimates for Block 2 point to potential natural gas resources of around 270 billion cubic metres.
International portfolio
Energean’s chief executive also discussed the company’s role in energy security in the Eastern Mediterranean, including meeting around 40% of Israel’s natural gas needs, producing hydrocarbons in Egypt for two decades, and its position as Italy’s third-largest natural gas producer.
As he noted, Energean plans to bring two new fields onstream in the first half of 2027: the Katlan field in Israel and the Irena field in Croatia, in the Adriatic Sea.
Finally, Rigas said that, alongside exploration for new discoveries, Energean’s objectives for its next phase of growth include acquiring discovered fields both in countries where the company is already present and in new markets, such as the wider West Africa region.
Outlook for the Ionian
Dionysis Anestoudis, Energean’s head of geology and geophysics, also took part in the IENE conference, joining a panel on hydrocarbon exploration moderated by journalist Giorgos Mourmouris.
Anestoudis discussed the history of Energean’s entry into Block 2, the 2022 three-dimensional seismic survey that led to the identification of the Asopos prospect and attracted ExxonMobil, as well as the opportunities the planned exploration well could open up for domestic hydrocarbon exploration and discovery.
“A discovery in the north-western Ionian Sea would further strengthen the prospects for advancing exploration programmes in our country and could also attract new interested parties to operate in Greek concessions,” Anestoudis said.