Greece gets interest for new offshore oil and gas tenders, licensing body says

Tenders for offshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation west and south of Greece have attracted "strong interest" from companies exploring in the Mediterranean, the head of Greece's oil and gas resources management company said on Wednesday.

Greece launched the tenders after expressions of interest by a consortium of Exxon Mobil, Total and Hellenic Petroleum for two sites off the island of Crete and by Greece's Energean for a block in the Ionian Sea.

Offers must be submitted to the Hellenic Hydrocarbons Resources Management (HHRM) company.

"HHRM is happy because the companies involved in exploration in the southeast Mediterranean have shown strong interest or have visited data rooms," Chief Executive Yannis Bassias told Reuters. Bassias declined to name the companies because the tender process is ongoing.

As well as Exxon and Total, Israel...