The first exploratory drilling for hydrocarbons since the 90s in our country is likely to take place in 2024 in Ioannina, following the approval of the environmental conditions for the project.

Energean’s drilling rig, which has leased the area in question for research, will reach depth 3,500 meters under the mountain”Currentshis Municipality of Zitsawhich was chosen (based on the results of previous seismic and electromagnetic surveys) as the first research target to be investigated.

The plot where the exploratory drilling will take place has a total area 53 acres and is located in the wider area of ​​the settlements of Kourenta, Ag. Christoforos (Yiourganista) and Delvinakopoulos which belong to the Municipal Unit of Molossos.

The previous exploratory drillings (outside the area where hydrocarbons are produced in Prinos) were done in the 90s, in the context of the round of concessions implemented by the then government in Western Greece, to no avail.

Approval of environmental conditions

As noted in the approval decision “all the advisory bodies that expressed opinions, they did not object on its content and consent to the realization of the project with the respective conditions – conditions of their competence which were taken into account and incorporated as conditions in the AEPO, while it appears, in principle, that there is social acceptance of the project, based on the relevant decision of the Regional Council”.

At the “satisfactory” 15% success rate

As Energean sources pointed out to APE, the cost of drilling is estimated to exceed 35 million euros and the chances of success are determined at 15%, a rate considered satisfactory for the oil industry.

A basic condition for its realization is the extension of the research stage, given that the existing deadline expires at the end of April. At the same time, the company is looking for a partner who will participate in the research and, in the next stage, the exploitation – if a exploitable deposit is found – of the hydrocarbons.

According to the decision, in case of positive results (discovery), the exploratory drilling will be completed in such a way that at the next stage of the development and maturation of the research program, it will be completed and operated as a production drilling (after separate environmental licensing). If the exploratory drilling does not lead to a discovery, the project operator is required to remove the facilities it used and restore the field site to a condition as close as possible to the original one, following the well and facility decommissioning procedure.