Professor of Mathematics, artist, poet, geopolitical analyst, hydrocarbon expert and human rights activist Nikos Lygeros was invited to speak on George Papadakis' morning news show on ANT1 on Monday morning. Lygeros noted that if the Greek State did not stop explorations in 1996, then today we would not be talking about an economic crisis today in our country, but would rather be enjoying the fruits of this venture.
Asked about the top secret report that was given to the Greek government by himself and other prominent geologists, Lygeros said that the survey only concentrates on hydrocarbons, and not Greece's overall mineral wealth. The news was first presented in the Sunday edition of the REAL News, and notes that geological similarities indicate that reserves offshore Crete may match the prolific Levantine Basin where recent Israeli and Cypriot discoveries are clustered.
According to Lygeros it points to strategically significant reserves in Greek waters south of Crete.
In previous reports on HellasFrappe we had mentioned that this is in the range of 3.5 trillion cubic meters (Tcm), enough to cover years of EU gas demand and on Monday when asked how long it would take before Greece can enjoy the benefits of this development, Lygeros made it clear that it would not take that long to explore and develop the offshore gas sector and he pointed at Cyprus as an example.
It needs to be reminded that Greece has already launched a licensing round and has commissioned a seismic survey from Norway to pin down the extent of hydrocarbon deposits in the Ionian and under Crete. The results are expected in mid-2013.
Earlier this year, Antonis Foskolos, Elias Konofagos and Nikos Lygeros had said they expected the reserves to generate at least US 599 billion in state earnings over 25 years.
Foskolos, a Professor Emeritus at the Technical University of Crete and the Canadian Geological Survey, has said that subsea methane emissions and the presence of gas hydrate mounds on the seabed indicate the presence of large reservoirs.
Lygeros told Papadaki that due to all this information, it is vital for the Greek government to delineate Greece's EEZ immediately because the deposits referred to in this study are between six and twelve nautical miles in Greece's territorial waters.
We had a special report on HellasFrappe on this very issue on Sunday, please click here to read more.
SPECIAL REPORT - Greek Geologists Give Secret Hydrocarbon Survey Results To Gov't - The Numbers Are Staggering! (VIDEOS) - http://www.hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2012/12/special-report-greek-geologists-give.html
It is interesting to note that one of the world's biggest seismic surveyors, Petroleum Geo-Physical (PGS), which won a tender to scan Greek waters, told the country's Department of Energy and Climate Change during a sales pitch in July 2011 that waters south of Crete had significant hydrocarbon potential. PGS had said that there are also potential analogues to proven hydrocarbon provinces in the Mediterranean, including Libya and s suggests that the Mediterranean Ridge near to Crete is a productive prism.
With its potential wealth, Greece could become a transit hub for gas to Europe if it establishes an exclusive economic zone allowing it to legally extract hydrocarbons, which it currently lacks south of Crete and in other areas.
Let us hope that someone in the government is listening...
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