Upon the invitation of the organizers the Chairman of IENE, Mr. Costis Stambolis took part in the annual Balkan and Black Sea Energy Forum (here) which was held at the prestigious Athens Club on July 5Upon the invitation of the organizers the Chairman of IENE, Mr. Costis Stambolis took part in the annual Balkan and Black Sea Energy Forum (here) which was held at the prestigious Athens Club on July 5. Participating in the first panel whose broad theme was on Energy, and was expertly moderated by well-respected journalist Mr. Lambros Kalarrytis, he joined three other distinguished contributors which included Dr. Yiannis Maniatis, former Minister of Environment and Energy and professor at Piraeus University, HE Ms. Lajla Brandt Jakhelln, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Greece & Cyprus, and Dr. Michael Thomadakis, Chief Officer Strategy & Development at DESFA, Greece’s Gas Transmission Operator.
In his intervention and in the discussion that followed IENE’s chairman stressed the following points:
1. Greece has huge energy dependence, higher than most countries in the wider Balkan and Black Sea area, and this is reflected in the high cost of energy which Greek consumers and visitors have to pay. We are talking of 78% overall energy dependency, much higher than the EU average.
2. RES will not solve Greece’s energy problem. Although in 2022 Greece managed to produce on average 40% of its electricity from renewables, these contributed less than 18% of final energy consumption. Consequently, the country is heavily dependent on hydrocarbon imports but also electricity cross border transfers.
3. In 2022 Greece paid some € 15,5 billion to import energy (oil, gas, electricity) which corresponds to 7,4 % of its GDP and 77,6 % of its balance of external payments account, which hit a record deficit of -€ 20 billion in 2022.
4. Greece has still a window of opportunity to utilize its hydrocarbon assets which far from being stranded can be used to revitalize its debt ridden economy (of more than € 356 bn public debt, with highest Debt to GDP ratio in Europe and one of the highest in the world)
5. Hydrocarbon development and use is not incompatible with Green Energy policies since gas can provide the main resource base with 50% less CO2 emissions, a strong LNG export base and much improved energy security.
6. Latest geological analysis places Greece’s total hydrocarbon potential between 2.0 to 4.0 billion of oil barrel equivalent, and with respect to gas the commercial exploitable potential is estimated between 70-90 tcf or 2.0 to 2.5 trillion cubic metres. These are significant numbers that cannot be dismissed easily.
7. The new government has reiterated its support for continuing the hydrocarbons exploration programme. In this effort Greece could be assisted by Norway’s huge experience and technical and managerial expertise.
