European countries are restarting the hunt for domestic oil and gas in a shift away from an energy strategy that in recent years prioritised renewable investment, according to the head of one of the continent’s largest independent gas producers.
Mathios Rigas, chief executive of Energean, said Greece, Italy and Cyprus — all countries where the London-listed, Mediterranean-focused gas producer is active — had shown signs of shifting their approach since Russia’s 2022 full-blown invasion of Ukraine upended European energy markets.
“If you look at Greece five years ago or seven years ago, [it] was only talking about green investments: shutting down lignite-fired power plants, promoting only green investments,” he told the FT.
“Now, one of the top items on the agenda is the well we will drill with Exxon . . . in western Greece. That’s a big shift,” he said, adding: “Potentially — using the words very carefully because we still have to drill the wells — we have the ability to create a situation where Greece becomes energy independent.”
In Italy, where a law preventing new exploration has been overturned in the courts, Rigas said Energean was in talks over new exploration licences, including in an area adjacent to one of its Greek prospects.
“I’m not saying we are there, but we are at least in active discussions about reopening exploration,” he said. “The Italian government is actively looking at allowing new activities to happen, when a few years ago it wasn’t even . . . on the agenda.”
While European countries continue to invest significantly in renewables, they have slowed down their transition to clean energy in the past year, particularly in areas where alternative fuels such as hydrogen remain relatively expensive. As a result, oil companies now expect a longer lifespan for fossil fuels and are rushing to secure more reserves.
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