Ministry of Environment and Energy: The competitive process for the award of hydrocarbon exploration rights begins

The tender for the concession of the right to explore and exploit hydrocarbons in two marine areas south of the Peloponnese is starting, the Ministry of Environment and Energy announced as Minister Theo Skylakakis signed the decision defining the exact boundaries of these areas. These are the areas for which Chevron and HELLENiQ Energy have expressed interest.

According to the Ministry's planning, the process is expected to be completed, with the ratification of the relevant contracts by the Parliament, within the year.

The Ministerial Decision defines the procedure for the concession of the State's rights for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons as a Lease Agreement, i.e. the same model as the corresponding procedures of the previous tenders.
This was preceded by another Ministerial Decision which accepted the interest expressed by the American company Chevron, which is the second largest private company in the world active in the hydrocarbons sector, and by HELLENiQ Energy, for the areas «South of the Peloponnese» and «Block A2».

Within the next few days, following a recommendation from the Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company (Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company), the Tender Notice will be published, which concerns the licensing of new areas for the purpose of awarding exclusive exploration and production rights for hydrocarbons.

The Call for Tenders will include four main sub-envelopes: a) legal documents, b) financial capacity documents, c) technical capacity documents and d) competitive data and will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and in the Official Journal of the European Union. The deadline for expressing interest is 90 days.

Once the bids have been submitted by interested parties (could be other companies, i.e. other than Chevron and HELLENiQ Energy who have expressed interest), the bids will be evaluated by a committee of the EDFEP. The best bid (per region) will be selected and negotiated with the prospective contractors to finalize the Lease Agreements.

Finally, the final Lease Agreements will be submitted to the Court of Auditors for pre-contractual control and their ratification by the Hellenic Parliament. The process will be completed this year.