Extended period of higher oil prices would benefit local aspirations

It remains to be seen if the currently improved market conditions for the global petroleum industry, prompted by higher oil prices, will last long enough to benefit Greece’s hydrocarbon aspirations.

Greece is looking to push ahead with hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation agreements for fields southwest of Crete as well as in the Ionian Sea.

Earlier this week, British Petroleum announced that the increase in oil prices, combined with lower production costs, helped the petroleum giant increase its profit by 2.8 billion dollars in 2017, following a one-billion dollar drop in 2016. BP’s improved performace in 2017 represents the firm’s best performance, in the hydrocarbon exploration sector, since 2004.

Also highlighting the petroleum industry’s upbeat prospects, ExxonMobil recently announced that it expects a fivefold hydrocarbon production increase by 2025.