President Briefed on Energy Issues, Maniatis Confident Over Hydrocarbon Surveys

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Before heading off to Sochi to attend the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, Greek President Karolos Papoulias held a meeting in Athens with Environment, Energy and Climate Change Minister Yiannis Maniatis, where he was briefed on the progress of ongoing talks between the Greek side and Russia's Gazprom to negotiate a lower price for Russian natural gas.

Maniatis appeared confident with respect to energy issues, based on the promising results of hydrocarbon exploration surveys carried out in Greece by the Norwegian firm PGS, adding that ongoing talks with the Russian side were now in the final stage and would hopefully end with a positive outcome.

Maniatis also informed the president that Greece would be presenting the good results of recent hydrocarbon exploration surveys at a major international conference taking place in Houston, before 17,000 oil industry delegates.

     "Essentially, this will be the first step in globally promoting Greece and its hydrocarbon exploration prospects to the oil industry. And we hope that in the coming period we will have even better news," the minister said.

He clarified, however, that it was too soon to give detailed estimates since the data was still being processed, though the initial signs were promising.

(We never doubted it for a minute...)