Month: August 2020

Hydrocarbons in Greece

Greece has an old connection with Hydrocarbons. More than 2500 years ago, Herodotus mentions the famous oil seep in Keri Zakynthos that still brings oil to the surface.

However, this connection is not only an old history. Besides the still producing Prinos Oil field and the verified West Katakolo Oil and Gas field, the recent exploration activity has been producing interest in the Hellenic Hydrocarbons sector.

Oil & Gas exploration had started before the 2^nd World War and intensified in late 70s to late 90s. A new turn was taken after 2015, the collection of some new data had been completed and new theories were proposed. International oil companies (e.g. TOTAL, ExxonMobil, Repsol, Edison), proceeded in several ventures in Greece and Helpe Upstream became an attractive partner.

Western Greece, both onshore and offshore, seems to have many analogs to the well-established Hydrocarbon provinces of Albania and Italy. In addition, following the recent discoveries in our broader region, blocks around Crete were also permitted in which Total, Exxon and Hellenic Petroleum will be exploring deep water plays.

Greece is still considered an under explored area although more than 70,000 km of 2D and 2,000 km2 of 3D seismic lines have been acquired in addition to about 100 wells that have been drilled. However, recent technology developments allow exploration to move to deeper waters in an economic manner, if there is promising prospectivity.

Greece, apart from being a hydrocarbons-promising area has also a strategic location in the middle of Mediterranean. It is in the crossroads for transporting gas, from the current or future producing fields in the Caspian and the Eastern Mediterranean, to Western Europe. IGB (Gas Interconnector Greece with Bulgaria), Poseidon, TAP and East-Med are in different stages of activity linking Greece and W. Europe with all producing regions in proximity and provide potential leverage for potential developments in the regions of Western Greece and Crete.

Oil & Gas remains a key element of the energy mix though the discussion on climate change continues and the costs for deploying renewable energy have been declining. Natural gas is the transitional fuel, as we move away from coal and trend towards renewables. Electric vehicles are making inroads in selected markets but not yet to on large scale globally. Oil remains the main fuel for all other modes of transportation and petrochemicals with no real alternatives in the foreseeable future.

By Mr. Vasilis Digalakis

Undersecretary of Education

Imposed mainly by climate change, the upcoming modifications in the way we produce, distribute, store and consume energy constitute perhaps the greatest technological challenge of our time. Almost all of science and engineering converge in energy technologies, which is why it will be the focus of research activity and the main field of innovation in the years to come.

It is generally admitted that our country has the privilege of possessing a wealth of energy potential. However, we are lagging significantly behind in its exploitation and must move rapidly towards energy transformation, by strengthening our infrastructure and adopting innovative models of production and consumption. There is a range of challenges that we will have to face, especially due to the fact that we are launching from a particularly negative starting point with regard to the existing production and distribution assets.

Crete, in particular, having until now had an autonomous power system and major requirements especially during the summer months, constitutes an extremely urgent priority: in order to offer 1 Kwh of electricity for consumption today, 2.9 KwH of primary energy are needed, with obvious consequences for national economy and the environment.

At the same time, the rich solar and wind energy potential of the island cannot be exploited, due to the regulatory restrictions imposed by a failure of interconnection of the island with the continental network. Worse still, a significant part of the existing Renewable Energy Sources production is discarded and not exploited. This can change with the upcoming interconnections implemented by the Independent Power Transmission Operator, as well as by making use of storage technologies.

Today we have a unique opportunity: we can turn the island into a living laboratory of energy technologies. With excellent research institutes – which in some cases lead European programmes for energy transformation – Crete can and should set an example of successful application of production, management and energy saving technologies:

• With the implementation of smart grids and the extensive installation of smart meters in order to reduce needs during peak periods, through demand response technologies and IT know-how exploitation.
• By transforming urban centres into smart cities using intelligent energy management and energy infrastructure improvement systems combined with water management and agricultural production systems.
• Utilizing energy storage and management technologies in conjunction with the introduction of electric vehicles (Vehicle to Grid – Grid to Vehicle).
• Through energy upgrading of the building stock with an emphasis on tourism and hospitality and the promotion of zero energy balance buildings and zero energy emissions.
• By reducing the urban heat island effect, which in turn can lead to a drastic reduction in energy demand during the summer season.

Key reform directions of the current political leadership of the Ministry of Education in the field of higher education are to improve the quality of education and relevance to the labour market, as well as the transfer of knowledge generated in universities to the real economy. In this context, the 5th Pancretan Energy Conference gives the opportunity to the Higher Education Institutes of the country to participate in the dialogue on the energy developments in our region and to highlight their action and research results.