Energy Resources Management Company

The national offshore wind farm development program is in danger of sinking in the deep waters off Crete, as archaeologists consider that wind turbines may be deleterious to the landscape of archaeological sites.

The European elections have led the offshore wind farm development program to an informal freeze.

The offshore block 'Crete 2b,' which has been included in the national offshore wind farm development planning, is being moved westward and further offshore and limited to 400 megawatts of the originally planned 600 MW.

The National Program for the Development of Offshore Wind Farms has created high expectations.

The first solid data from seismic research conducted in the Ionian Sea and the sea region west-southwest of Crete will be available by the end of 2023 and this data will be the basis on which a decision on whether to carry out exploratory drilling will be made, hydrocarbon industry sources said on Monday.

With US-based ExxonMobil entering the final stage of exploration in Crete, Athens' expectations have been boosted by the statement by Environment and Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas that there are indications of a significant deposit that could fill the Russian gas gap in Europe for 10 years.

Τhe seismic data ExxonMobil's Sanco Swift research vessel has collected so far offer clear indications of the existence of an important hydrocarbon field in the area south of Crete.

Seismic data obtained so far by the Sanco Swift, the Norwegian exploration vessel leased by ExxonMobil, southwest of the island of Crete, allegedly point to the existence of large natural gas deposits in the area.