Estimates of natural gas reserves exceeding domestic demand

“We cannot be sure until drilling is done, however estimates show that natural gas reserves in Greek territory exceed domestic demand. Consequently, the investigations are not only a Greek but also a regional and European issue.”

This was pointed out by the managing director of the Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company (HEREMA) Aristophanes Stefatos, speaking today at the Economist conference. He recalled that HEREMA recently expanded in addition to hydrocarbon research into two new areas:

a) The storage of carbon dioxide for which an attempt is being made to utilize the exhausted deposit of Prinos and
b) The offshore wind farms for which announcements will be made next week regarding their national development program. Likewise, as he mentioned, the country’s wind potential exceeds the domestic demand for clean energy.

Mr. Stefatos emphasized that there is no attempt to slow down the energy transition, but there are opportunities and partnerships can be formed across the spectrum of the energy mix that will provide solutions to the current turmoil in the international supply chain.

Concerns

At the same conference, the former US Secretary of Energy, Francis Fannon, raised his concerns about the risk of a new dependence of the West on China, this time regarding the raw materials necessary for the energy transition, after the corresponding dependence Europet had on Russian natural gas.

“We are in the early stages of the energy transition, governments need to understand the negatives that Germany has experienced from dependence on Russia and not turn to China for the scarce minerals needed for the transition,” Mr. Fannon stressed and added : “There must be new supply chains. We need speed in the implementation of the transition and, at the same time, security”.