Greece's time for another look

The country's offshore has been ignored for years, but discoveries in surrounding regions have piqued interest

While offshore hydrocarbons finds have mounted across the East Mediterranean—notably in Israel, Cyprus and Egypt—Greece has struggled to attract explorers to its adjacent chunk of deep-water acreage. Now, ExxonMobil and Total are in the vanguard of companies preparing to take another look. The Greek energy ministry said on 31 May that a group comprising those two firms and Hellenic Petroleum had submitted an expression of interest in exploring two areas south of Crete-acreage to the west of Cyprus and north of Egypt. The companies held talks with the government earlier that month. If this interest turns into hands-on exploration it will be a coup for Athens, which badly needs fresh investmen