The government is committed to supporting the sustainability of the offshore Prinos oil field in the country’s north, Greece’s only producing unit, heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic’s effects on the global economy, including record-low oil prices, deputy energy minister Gerasimos Thomas pledged last night in response to questions raised by MPs of the leftist Syriza party and KKE, the Greek Communist Party.

“We are committed to the oil field’s uninterrupted production, an effort through which jobs will be protected,” Thomas stated.

The government is currently negotiating with Energean Oil & Gas, license holder and operator of the offshore field, south of Kavala, for a solid solution, the deputy minister also informed.

A detailed announcement will be made once these talks have been completed and the government has shaped its proposals, the deputy minister told parliament after Syriza MP Soultana Eleftheriadou criticized him for being too vague with his remarks.

Thomas made note of the European Commission’s new framework for state aid as one of the solutions being worked on by the government. This framework provides flexibility, he pointed out.

The deputy minister also made reference to a government support plan for the Kavala region that includes the development of an underground gas storage facility at a virtually depleted offshore gas field south of Kavala, and an upgrade of the city’s port.