Exxon Mobil started seismic surveys off the Peloponnese, Crete
Exxon Mobil has started conducting seismic surveys in two blocks southwest of the Peloponnese peninsula and the island of Crete on Thursday, Greek Environment and Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas announced on Thursday.
“The ship has started [its surveying]. It is laying out the wires with the hydrophones it is towing behind, which receive the sound waves so that it can determine the geological structures,” he told state-run broadcaster ERT.
Sanco Swift, the Norwegian exploration vessel leased by ExxonMobil to conduct the surveying, is currently located southwest of the Peloponnese, according to the MarineTraffic website.
As Kathimerini has reported, Greece’s navy has already issued a navigational warning that the exploration will start and the vessel will lay out 12 kilometers of cable and collect two-dimensional seismic data to help determine the extent of gas reserves. The area has already produced indications of likely reserves and seismic research will extend throughout the winter period.
About 85% of the area in which the vessel will explore lies within Greece’s Navtex jurisdiction. For the remaining area a Navtex must be issued by Malta.
In July this year, ExxonMobil and Greece’s biggest oil refiner HelleniQ Energy agreed to take over TotalEnergies’ share in two contracts for gas and oil exploration off Crete, after the latter pulled out.
ExxonMobil is the operator, owning 70% of the rights for looking for hydrocarbons off Crete. HelleniQ Energy holds the rest.
