An Energean Oil & Gas hydrocarbon block in Katakolo, off western Peloponnese, has been certified to measure 10.7 million barrels by an independent agency, representing triple the amount of an initial estimate of 3 million barrels made by Greek authorities when staging an international tender for the block.

The development comes as a major bonus on the domestic front for Energean Oil & Gas, whose CEO Mathios Rigas has essentially based himself in London to organize financial matters concerning a 1.5 billion-euro investment by the company in Israel. As a result, Dimitris Gontikas, managing director of Energean Oil & Gas subsidiary Kavala Oil, is now managing Energean’s domestic matters.

Besides the Katakolo bonus, Energean’s domestic prospects include the Prinos block in south Kavala, certified by an independent agency to possess 40 million barrels, and, possibly, a further 20 billion barrels.

As for Energean’s interests in Israel, the company’s certified deposits amount to 2.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the equivalent of 446 million barrels of crude. Energean holds a 50 percent stake in Energean Israel, which fully owns the Karish and Tanin fields.