Hydrocarbons: Do we want to become Cyprus and Israel or not?

the Navtex version To reserve spaces within the marine plots granted to it Exxon MobilIt opened a new and perhaps the most optimistic chapter in the path of hydrocarbon exploitation in our country. What can we expect from these new and potentially definitive investigations? Selection of the bottom portion in which safe exploratory drilling will be tested.

Therefore, the moment of truth is approaching to complete the picture regarding the presence of unexploitable hydrocarbon deposits. The negative side of the result will not have any harmful impact on the Greek economy, because all the costs of research and studies so far have been paid by the federations concerned and not by the state.

On the contrary, the possibility of a positive outcome will lead to promising economic developments, as everyone acknowledges that complete independence from fuel is still slow. Therefore, until the green transition is complete, natural gas will play an important role in our country's energy equation. Therefore, the “green light” for ExxonMobil will lead, on the one hand, to an increase in state revenues – in the form of royalties – from the extraction of hydrocarbons, and, on the other hand, to a significant improvement in the trade balance, which is largely burdened by imports of hydrocarbons.

However, the issue of Navtex and its continuation of pregnancy, like any development in our country, led to this Create two fronts.

the First front It is the fabrication of those who believe that accelerating drilling in the two offshore areas west and southwest of Crete, which will lead to a final decision on the final exploratory drilling that opens the way for the extraction of hydrocarbons, hinders Greece's plan. For green development and green transformation. Especially since it was preceded by the sudden and absolute weaning of coal, which the government gave a symbolic character. It is not a coincidence that in 2019 three environmental organizations filed a complaint with the Council of State (Council of State), against ministerial approval for a study of the strategic environmental impact of research in two specific underwater parcels west and southwest of Crete. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal in December 2022, allowing investigations to continue after three years of delay.

the Second front Which is from cautious to opposite, it is made up of members of the business community on the island of Crete who are active in the field of tourism and outside it. With the installation of drilling rigs and hydrocarbon extraction platforms, it will create a new ecosystem for activities that will significantly impact the economic and social life of the island.

Their questions are reasonable, because a series of new ports and logistical infrastructure will necessarily have to be created to accommodate this activity. At the same time, as the local bodies claim, catalytic restructuring will be carried out in several sectors of the local economy of Crete, such as for example the flow of the supply chain, the field of construction and building materials, services, the real estate market and water management as well as the labor market.

Of course, the main objection that arises concerns the potential risks associated with operating mining units, which could jeopardize Crete's main business activity, tourism. If we even think about the reactions of local communities in isolated Greece to the installation of floating wind turbines, we do not rule out that there will be an escalation in reactions.

So the question that the country must answer is: Does it want to become like Cyprus and Israel, which have begun to exploit its maritime territories, or not? Otherwise, if he proceeds without clear intentions and decisions and with a boat of hope, he will live in the “glorious racing moments” of the past, as interested investors watch developments in silence.