Energean gets Total’s stake in the Ionian

Greek oil enterprise Energean has secured its entry into Block 2 of the Ionian Sea by buying out the stake of French company Total, which had been seeking to disengage from the region for months.

Total had a 50 percent stake in the consortium to survey Block 2, while Hellenic Petroleum and Edison each hold 25 percent. Sources say Total first offered its two partners the stake but that they were not interested. Energean agreed to buy it because it appreciates the synergies this particular block presents with the other areas it has undertaken in Greece (Ioannina), as well as similar ones in Montenegro and the concessions of Edison in Italy.

On Thursday Energean announced that the director of Total E&P Greece, Denis Lemarchal, and the chief executive officer of the Energean group, Mathios Rigas, had signed the agreement. The completion of the deal will see Energean...