* First contractors to be picked within 18-24 months
* Greek finds may cover about a fifth of domestic demand
Greece will invite bids by private operators to search for oil and natural gas in its west, aiming to cut its energy imports bill, an official told Reuters.
Debt-laden Greece spends between 10 and
12 billion euros ($16.61 billion) a year on oil imports, about 5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP).
It produces just a few thousand barrels of oil a day in the northern Aegean Sea, dependent more than most other EU nations on oil and gas imports.
By the end of spring, it will update its law on hydrocarbon exploration and production and set up a new authority to govern licensing, Yannis Maniatis, deputy minister for Energy and Climate Change, said in an interview.
"I understand that the new authority will recommend that a first licensing round be held," he said. "I estimate that 4-5 blocks will be put out for licensing, the authority will receive instructions to start with western Greece because mature scientific data already exist for that area."
The first contractors to conduct seismic and geological research in the area, maybe even the first test drills, will be picked within the next 18 to 24 months, Maniatis said.
"Based on the unprocessed and fragmented data that exists, Greece can cover part of its oil and natural gas needs from own resources," said Maniatis. "In some years, this could reach one fifth to one quarter (of total consumption)," he added.
Greece consumes about 120 million barrels of oil and 4 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually.
GREECE WANTS NO TROUBLE WITH NEIGHBOURS
Almost 200 fruitless test wells have been spud in various parts of Greece in the past century, the most recent about 12 years ago. But most of the tests were shoddy or simply made in the wrong place, Maniatis said.
"The targets were wrong. As technology improves, I believe we will hit the targets and avoid the mistakes of the past."
The update of the E&P law will also allow for flexible licensing, such as the "open door" procedure, where investors can submit unsolicited expressions of interest.
"The law will include the open door, concessions and procedures to obtain non-exclusive data," Maniatis said.
Disputes with neighbours, notably Turkey, over territorial rights in the waters around Greece need not obstruct Athens from searching for oil in other areas, according to the deputy minister.
"We will not wait until these issues are resolved and we have no intention of getting entangled with them," Maniatis said.
Greece and Turkey almost went to war in 1987 when a Canadian company producing oil off the northern Greek island of Thassos tried to expand its operations in waters Ankara considered did not belong to Athens.
"Greece is still unexplored territory and this means that we can hold one or two licensing rounds before we get involved in foreign policy issues," Maniatis said.
By Harry Papachristou
source: Reuters
