A consortium comprising US oil major ExxonMobil, Energean, and Greece’s leading refiner Helleniq Energy is set to sign a contract with Stena Drilling to initiate exploratory drilling in an offshore block in western Greece, according to the country’s energy ministry, as reported by Reuters.
The agreement follows a deal announced in 2025 by the partners to explore for natural gas in Block 2, located in the Ionian Sea.
An official from the Greek energy ministry stated that exploratory drilling is scheduled to commence in February 2027, marking Greece’s first offshore exploration campaign in approximately four decades.
Stena Drilling will deploy a high-specification drilling vessel capable of operating in ultra-deepwater environments, with drilling capacity reaching depths of up to 35,000 feet. The campaign aims to unlock hydrocarbon resources that were previously considered technically challenging to access.
