Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis said data from the Eni-Total venture's exploration drilling in a different block had confirmed the existence of a natural gas reservoir within the country's exclusive economic zone. But "preliminary estimates show that the amount of gas discovered does not make the deposit a stand-alone project," he added.
US firm Noble Energy made the first find off the southeast coast in 2011 in the Aphrodite field, which is estimated to contain around 127.4 billion cubic metres (4.54 trillion cubic feet) of gas. Israeli firms Delek and Avner, as well as Royal Dutch Shell, all have a stake in that block, which has been declared commercially viable.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017