Greece searches oil in maritime area disputed with Albania

25/05/2017 00:00

The Greek government has given in concession the maritime areas where bid-winning companies will search for oil.

The Ministry has published only the agreement, not the map, which raises suspicions that they will affect the negotiable part between Albania and Greece, although they posted the maps for their inland areas.

“Joni 2” concession will be held north of Corfu, a disputed area between Albania and Greece. This area was given to Total France, Elpe and the Italian “Edison”. The first drills will be realized in 2018.

Elpe representatives and the Greek Minister of Energy are optimistic that there will be important quantities of oil.

However, the “Joni 2” is within the exclusive economic area of Albania, for which the former Albanian Foreign Minister, Lulzim Basha, had signed an agreement with his Greek counterpart, Dora Bakoyannis, giving most of it to Greece.

The agreement was rejected by the Constitutional Court of Albania and has not been ratified by the respective parliaments. This situation has not stopped Athens from negotiating with the Norwegian companies, who made researches under protection of the Greek marine.

Athens then decided to continue with drills, although they need Tirana’s agreement. For Athens, the area remains Greek territory. They have even sent the geographic coordinates at the UN, without having any result or new agreement between both countries.

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