Several major international companies have expressed interest in a Greek tender for seismic surveys across offshore areas of western and southern Greece, as Athens tries to attract big energy groups to resume hydrocarbon exploration, according to the state news agency ANA-MPA.
The Energy Ministry launched the tender on June 30. It covers the entire Ionian Sea and the sea south of Crete, including blocks already licensed to Chevron, ExxonMobil, HelleniQ Energy and Energean.
Bidders can offer two- or three-dimensional surveys over all or part of the area. Where work overlaps licensed blocks, Greece's hydrocarbons agency must first obtain the licensees' consent. Bids are due Nov. 9.
The tender was prompted by a request from the survey firm PGS Exploration.
The aim is non-exclusive data to assess the area's hydrocarbon potential, identify new targets where a petroleum system is already known to exist, and then offer them for further exploration and drilling.
The most advanced project is Block 2 in the northwest Ionian, where an ExxonMobil-led group with Energean and HelleniQ Energy plans an exploratory well in April 2027, the first offshore drilling in Greece in decades.
A public consultation on its environmental study is under way, and regional councils in the Ionian Islands and Epirus and the underwater antiquities authority have given conditional approval.
Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou said Chevron and HelleniQ's seismic work is due by the end of 2026, and called the American firms' involvement "a vote of confidence."
He said Greece is moving from planning to action and is also a leader in renewables.
The plans face opposition.
Environmental groups say seismic noise can harm whales, dolphins and monk seals, and residents of Corfu have begun organizing against drilling. Officials say the work meets high standards.