Energean Oil & Gas has been granted a two-year extension and an option for one additional year by the Environment and Energy Ministry for exploitation of a gas deposit in the south Kavala region. The existing license is due to expire in a few days, on November 23.

The extension was considered necessary for an improvement of conditions at the deposit so that TAIPED, the State Privatization Fund, may proceed with a tender for the development of a submarine gas storage facility.

The south Kavala deposit has been mostly recovered but the Greek state would have run into serious problems had the extension not been granted to Energean as the state would have had to manage the exisiting platform or dismantle it, both costly procedures.