NOTICE ANNOUNCING AN INTERNATIONAL CALL FOR TENDERS FOR GRANTING AND USING AUTHORISATIONS FOR THE EXPLORATION AND EXPLOITATION OF HYDROCARBONS IN MARITIME AREAS TO THE SOUTH OF THE PELOPONNESE (Blocks ‘A2’ and ‘SOUTH OF THE PELOPONNESE’) AND TO THE SOUTH OF CRETE (Blocks ‘SOUTH OF CRETE 1’ and ‘SOUTH OF CRETE 2’)

On 22 August 2024, pursuant to Article 2(17)(b) of Law 2289/1995 on the prospection, exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons and other provisions, as in force (‘the Hydrocarbons Law’), the company Chevron Balkans Exploration B.V. submitted to Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company S.A. (HEREMA S.A.) an expression of interest in the granting of authorisations for exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in one maritime area to the south of the Peloponnese and in two maritime areas to the south of Crete, on the continental shelf of the Hellenic Republic.

In addition, on 12 September 2024, pursuant to Article 2(17)(b) of the Hydrocarbons Law, the company HELLENiQ Upstream Kyparissiakos Gulf Single Member S.A. submitted to HEREMA S.A. an expression of interest in the granting of authorisations for exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in the ‘A2’ maritime area to the south of the Peloponnese, on the continental shelf of the Hellenic Republic.

Following memos 23626/26.8.2024, 23950/13.9.2024, 26347/21.1.2025 and 27201/26.3.2025 from HEREMA S.A., the Minister for the Environment and Energy issued Decisions No ΥΠΕΝ/ΔΥΔΡ/7030/152/21.01.2025 and ΥΠΕΝ/ΔΥΔΡ/37580/896/04.04.2025 accepting the aforementioned expressions of interest and initiating the tendering procedure described in Article 2(17)(b) of the Hydrocarbons Law.

The Hellenic Republic, through the Minister for the Environment and Energy, announces an invitation to other possible interested parties to participate in this tendering procedure.

The available exclusive areas are shown in Map 1 and are bounded by the following geographical coordinates:

WGS 1984
Area	Longitude	Latitude
South of Crete 1	23° 34' 57.84"E	34° 39' 56.19"N
	24° 44' 57.94"E	34° 39' 56.22"N
	24° 44' 57.96"E	33° 27' 41.14"N
	23° 34' 57.86"E	33° 43' 41.42"N
South of Crete 2	24° 44' 57.93"E	34° 49' 56.23"N
	26° 14' 58.06"E	34° 49' 56.25"N
	26° 14' 58.09"E	33° 27' 55.21"N
	26° 00' 00.00"E	33° 24' 56.14"N
	26° 00' 00.00"E	33° 18' 01.04"N
	24° 44' 57.96"E	33° 27' 41.14"N
South of the Peloponnese	20° 54' 57.56"E	36° 49' 56.28"N
	20° 59' 57.57"E	36° 49' 56.28"N
	20° 59' 57.57"E	36° 39' 56.27"N
	21° 09' 57.58"E	36° 39' 56.27"N
	21° 09' 57.59"E	36° 34' 56.27"N
	21° 34' 57.62"E	36° 34' 56.27"N
	21° 34' 57.62"E	36° 29' 56.27"N
	22° 09' 57.67"E	36° 29' 56.28"N
	22° 09' 57.68"E	36° 19' 56.27"N
	22° 14' 57.68"E	36° 19' 56.27"N
	22° 14' 57.69"E	36° 14' 56.27"N
	22° 39' 57.72"E	36° 14' 56.27"N
	22° 39' 57.73"E	35° 59' 56.26"N
	23° 04' 57.76"E	35° 59' 56.27"N
	23° 04' 57.77"E	35° 34' 56.24"N
	23° 19' 57.79"E	35° 34' 56.25"N
	23° 19' 57.80"E	35° 19' 56.23"N
	22° 54' 57.77"E	35° 19' 56.22"N
	22° 54' 57.76"E	35° 29' 56.23"N
	22° 14' 57.71"E	35° 29' 56.22"N
	22° 14' 57.69"E	35° 59' 56.25"N
	22° 04' 57.68"E	35° 59' 56.25"N
	22° 04' 57.68"E	36° 04' 56.25"N
	21° 54' 57.66"E	36° 04' 56.25"N
	21° 54' 57.66"E	36° 14' 56.26"N
	21° 19' 57.61"E	36° 14' 56.25"N
	21° 19' 57.61"E	36° 24' 56.26"N
	20° 54' 57.57"E	36° 24' 56.25"N
Α2	20° 59' 57.57"E	36° 49' 56.28"N
	21° 19' 57.59"E	36° 49' 56.29"N
	21° 19' 57.60"E	36° 44' 56.28"N
	21° 24' 57.60"E	36° 44' 56.28"N
	21° 24' 57.61"E	36° 34' 56.27"N
	21° 09' 57.59"E	36° 34' 56.27"N
	21° 09' 57.58"E	36° 39' 56.27"N
	20° 59' 57.57"E	36° 39' 56.27"N

The abovementioned maritime areas are under the jurisdiction of the Hellenic Republic in accordance with Law 4717/2020 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 164, 28.8.2020) and Article 2(1) of Law 2289/1995, as amended by Article 156(2) of Law 4001/2011 (Government Gazette, Series I, No 179, 22.8.2011).

All applications will be considered in accordance with the provisions of the Hydrocarbons Law, as in force, and Greek law, and against a background of the continuing need for ongoing, thorough, efficient and safe exploration to identify Greece’s oil and gas resources and exploit them with due regard for environmental issues.

HEREMA S.A. will enter into agreements for the blocks with the selected applicants on the basis of royalty/tax arrangements (lease agreements). The lease agreements to be signed by HEREMA S.A. will be approved by the Minister for the Environment and Energy. Without this approval, the agreements will be null and void and will not produce any legal effect.

The application deadline is the first working day after a period of ninety (90) days from the date of publication of this call for tenders in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Applications reaching HEREMA S.A. after this date will not be taken into consideration.

Applications must be submitted to:

Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company S.A.

Dimitriou Margari 18

115 25 Athens

GREECE

Applications will be considered on the basis of the following evaluation criteria:

i)	Financial viability of the applicant to carry out exploration for and, as appropriate, exploitation of hydrocarbons from the areas in question.

ii)	Proven technical ability and expertise of the applicant.

iii)	Proven experience of the operator in carrying out exploration, development and production (exploitation) of hydrocarbons, especially in deep (>1 000 m) and ultra-deep (>2 000 m) water areas, including supervision of related activities.

iv)	The quality of the work programme and the time-frame submitted for evaluating the full potential of the blocks applied for.

v)	The applicant’s geological understanding of the geographical areas in question, and how the selected applicant proposes to perform efficient and safe exploration for hydrocarbons.

vi)

The ability to implement environmental management for compliance with regulatory requirements and achievement of the highest possible environmental performance, as well as experience in operating in environmentally sensitive areas and maintaining a high level of safety and environmental protection in areas where tourism is prevalent and of considerable economic importance.

vii)	Importance will be attached to any lack of efficiency or responsibility or non-performance displayed by the applicant in relation to obligations under concessions previously granted.

viii)

Biddable items — Minimum exploration work programme — Financial guarantee — Greek State royalties — Capital depreciation (%) — Signature and production bonus — Training and technical support — Relinquishment of the original block area (%) — Acreage fees during the exploration phase and the exploitation stage.

Applicants who are found to be technically and financially qualified will be invited to compete for the areas offered. Negotiations will be conducted on the basis of the biddable items. More than one applicant may be invited to negotiate for one of the blocks.

HEREMA S.A. will grant the authorisation without prejudice to the provisions of Article 3(6) of Directive 94/22/EC.

On the date of publication of this call for tenders in the Official Journal of the European Union, detailed information and all relevant documents will be posted on the HEREMA S.A. website: www.herema.gr.

Map 1

MAP AND ELEMENTARY GRID CELLS CONSTITUTING THE BLOCK AREAS