Drilling for gas in Crete to start earlier

US energy giant ExxonMobil, which has partnered with Greece's HELLENiQ Energy (formerly Hellenic Petroleum) in searching for natural gas and oil west and southwest of the Aegean island of Crete, not only is unconcerned about Turkish aggressive rhetoric against Greece but plans to accelerate its timeline for exploratory drilling by a year, Kathimerini understands.

The areas ceded for exploratory research to the Greek-American consortium, especially the one southwest of Crete, clash with Libyan claims of maritime sovereignty, backed by Turkey, and enshrined in a 2019 memorandum between Ankara and the Tripoli-based Libyan government, which does not control the whole of the country.

Libya and Turkey do not share maritime borders; Egypt and Greece stand in the way. Yet, they claim to do so, based on Turkey's claim, not shared internationally, that islands, such as Crete,...