Parties ratified the contracts for hydrocarbon exploration in four areas, off Crete and Ionian Sea region, in the Greek parliament on Wednesday evening, ANA reports.
The contracts include the sea area designated as ‘Ionio’ (Spain-based consortium Repsol Exploracion/Hellenic Petroleum or HELPE); ‘Block 10 Ionian Sea’ in the Gulf of Kyparissia, SW Peloponnese (HELPE); and the maritime areas ‘West of Crete’ and ‘Southwest of Crete’ (consortium of Total, ExxonMobil and HELPE).
Provisions of the contracts for the Cretan and Ionian beds include an 8-year limit on exploration and a 25-year limit on exploitation. If hydrocarbons are located, the state stands to gain 40 pct of the total investment revenues, broken down as follows: 20 pct as income tax plus 5 pct as regional tax, with the rest being income on royalties based on a rising scale linked to hydrocarbon volume.
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC-BY-SA Copyright: George Voudouris
