Hellenistic Collaborations
Exploring Greece's Hydrocarbon Sector
Visiting the Largest University in Greece
While visiting Greece, I took the opportunity to join my friend and colleague, Kostas Poursanidis, on a visit to Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. I’ve made an unbelievable career in the oilfield and I’ve been around the world. But, I’ve racked up a lot of miles and spent a lot of time in less than beautiful places in the world. So, when GREECE came up…well, my bags were already packed!
While not as popular with American tourists, Thessaloniki is rich in Macedonian history and is an important port city in Northern Greece. For the history buffs, Alexander the Great was born just outside of Thessaloniki in a town called Pella. In fact, Thessaloniki is named after one of Alexander’s sisters. Not everyone is into history, though. When I mentioned Greece to a friend, his reply was, “Meh…when you see one pile of rocks, you’ve seen them all.” Dr. Ernestos Sarris would strongly disagree!
We sat down to visit with Dr. Ernestos Sarris, Assistant Professor in Hydrocarbon Exploration at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), who’s position sits in the Geology Department (see what I did there?!). AUTH is Greece’s largest state university boasting over 88,000 students, including 6,500 postgraduate students and 3,900 enrolled in doctorate programs.
Geology Lessons
The Geology Department is part of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, which was founded in 1928. The Geology and Paleontology Laboratory was incorporated into the School of Natural Sciences in 1948, while the official School of Geology was founded in 1973, and is one of the first ten Schools at AUTH to attract research funding from a wide range of sources. Various studies in geosciences disciplines are supported with a number of state-of-the-art laboratories and museums and academic centers. This is important, as we’ll see, because Dr. Sarris is exposed to many of the research efforts that are aligned with Greece’s interests in Energy.
Some of Greece’s current energy needs will sound familiar to our US readers (safe, secure, independent energy) and as an EU member, Greece is active with stated goals and agreements of the intergovernmental organization. One example includes agreed upon metrics towards a carbon neutral footprint for the region. We’ll focus on a couple heavy hitters today, but a partial list of research projects at AUTH include Fossil Fuels, Hydrogeology, Climatology, Geothermal Energy, and Carbon Sequestration.
Dr. Ernestos was recently elected as Assistant Professor specializing in hydrocarbon exploration within the School of Geology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, while previously serving as an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering at the University of Nicosia, Cyprus, specifically within the Oil, Gas and Energy engineering but also in the Civil Engineering programs. Notably, Dr. Ernestos has leveraged his expertise as the director of both petrophysics and drilling fluids laboratories that he continues with his new appointment, further solidifying his contributions to the field. Holding a PhD in Petroleum Geomechanics from the University of Cyprus, his academic journey has been dedicated to pioneering research in the applications of computational geomechanics and specializing in the hydraulic fracturing technique. His areas of expertise span a wide array, encompassing mathematical modeling, finite elements and computational fluid dynamics, with a primary focus on Petroleum Geomechanics.
One can start to see how we might get along with Dr. Sarris, right?! Computational problem solving, mathematical modeling, fluid…as Pontem has continued to grow and expand in the region, we see the alignment with industry leaders like Dr. Sarris and his colleagues at AUTH, particularly with the postgraduate program that has been developed at the University.
And a bit more of the displayed minerals, showing the beauty and the variability of the rock materials subsurface (1 of the 3 rooms that we walked through!).
Energy Dynamics
Within this domain, Dr. Ernestos has contributions in petroleum-related rock mechanics, hydraulic fracturing, sanding prediction and control, wellbore stability, and multiphase flows. His current research extends into crucial areas such as CO2 geological storage, drilling fluids, geothermal energy and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) underscoring his invaluable contributions to the advancement of the energy sector.
Our connection with Dr. Sarris goes back a ways: Kostas studied under Dr. Sarris’ research programs while at University. His research efforts continue to be in alignment with many of Pontem’s efforts and his involvement with Aristotle University’s Inter-Institutional Postgraduate Study Program (IPSP) “Hydrocarbon Exploration and Exploitation” is an important program for the development of Greece’s next generation of geoscientists. We are hopeful to continue our dialogue with Dr. Sarris and the University, as the IPSP program is perfectly aligned with many of the technical challenges Greece faces: the need to develop its proven natural resources into safe, reliable, and abundant energy; continue reducing Greece’s CO2 footprint with efforts to achieve their “Net Zero by 2050” goal; and develop a holistic energy plan that includes fossil fuels, renewable energy sources, and alternative energy sources like geothermal energy.
Now that we’ve gotten you excited to file paperwork for a sabbatical at AUTH, let’s talk a bit about the big picture for Energy in Greece.
Energy Landscape in Greece: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities
Some estimates of Greece’s hydrocarbon reserves top €250 billion (or 3 billion BOE) concentrated within 8 active concessions. To be honest, Greece is not known as a major oil & gas producer. However, there are active exploration projects and recent events have accelerated some of those projects. According to HEREMA (Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company, HEREMA), “the combination of the potential to increase the Greek economy, commitment to net zero by 2050, and Greece’s role in securing regional and European energy security resulted in the Greek State elevating hydrocarbon development to projects of national importance in April 2022.” Their plan is aggressive with early production for natural gas plays starting as early as 2027.
The West of Crete and Southwest of Crete blocks are two of the eight developments that are particularly interesting. Both are in the first exploration phase and sit in water depths ranging 2,000 - 4,800 m. West of Crete is 20,000 Km2, while Southwest of Crete is 19,800 Km2. (For our readers more familiar with Gulf of Mexico, this is roughly equivalent to about 850 leasing blocks for each of the two blocks). Based on 2012 seismic data, there are carbonate structures analogous to gas discoveries recently made in the Eastern Mediterranean in Cyprus and Egypt. Pontem may have some involvement in some of those discoveries.
Prinos Basin
The block with active production is the Prinos-Kavala offshore basin, which is located ~6 km northwest of the island of Thasos in the Sea of Thrace, was first produced in 1981 and has accumulated over 120 MMboe. The production from the Prinos is a mixture of oil and gas. The oil is a moderate gravity (27-28 API gravity) and the reservoir is undersaturated with sour gas content. The GOR of the field is 674 scf/bbl. The Prinos block is licensed to Energean, who are the sole operators. There are an estimated 36 MMboe 2P reserves and 64 MMboe 2C resources in the Prinos basin. The Prinos basin has been in the news recently because of an interesting CCS effort, which I’ll discuss below…which remind us of some meetings in Athens where we were also involved!
You may be thinking, “Wait a minute?! What about the Net Zero by 2050? How can one commit to that AND start more exploration?” Without getting up on a soap box for too long, it is this balanced approach that we believe will win the day. The commitment to develop and produce hydrocarbons, focusing on natural gas will help tip the scales in energy use from the most polluting energy sources (coal, for example) to the least polluting energy sources (natural gas). Greece (and the rest of the world) consumes energy. It is impossible to turn off all fossil fuels and expect to maintain our current high quality of life standards. A smart transition plan is required while technology (whatever that may be) is developed. And reducing higher polluting sources of energy is a great first step. What will that do for the big picture? Glad you asked!
Coal Transition on the Island
The transition from coal to natural gas, which will provide ~50% CO2 reduction, is being driven by a number of factors. While Greece has 3,170 million tons of proven coal reserves (as of 2016), it is a net importer of coal. Greece has approximately 83 years of coal reserves remaining. In actuality, Greece’s coal fired electricity plants will be phased out by 2028. Beginning in 2009, the country has steadily reduced the use of coal for electricity. The electricity demands have largely been replaced by natural gas, wind, and solar sources. From 2022 according to the chart below, Greece will need to “find” 5,756 GWh that is being eliminated with coal removal from somewhere else in order to keep up with population demand for energy. If those three replacement sources continue on their trajectory there shouldn’t be a problem. In fact, natural gas growth should be able to provide enough electricity on its own. Wind will come close with a linear growth trajectory: there would be a ~400 GWh shortage based on per year growth from 2014, and solar will provide about half of the energy needs on its own (again with a linear growth trajectory).
Not surprisingly, the move away from coal has lowered the emissions from fuel combustion. As of 2022, Greece ranked 16th in Europe (meaning 15 European countries emit more CO2 than Greece). In looking at how they’ve reduced their emissions, they look to be on a good pace for Net Zero by 2050. Will Greece get there?!
Looks can be deceiving. An easy linear extrapolation from 2022, following the same reduction rate since 2007 makes it appear as if there’s little doubt Greece will be at zero emissions well ahead of schedule. However, a more likely scenario is after 2028 when coal is largely off the board, other measures will need to come into play and the low hanging fruit will be gone. Which brings me to the second arena Dr. Sarris and Aristotle University are actively contributing, and an area Pontem is actively pursuing interests in, as well.
Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS): Offsetting Emissions
In 2022, the first license for Carbon Storage Exploration in Greece was granted in the Prinos block. Some studies have suggested the reservoirs and supporting aquifers offer large storage capacity: up to 3 MMt/yr CO2 for the next 25 years. In this way, by capturing and storing CO2, the emissions from energy production can be offset thereby continuing to reduce the net CO2 emissions. The goal, as submitted to HEREMA, is to develop the Prinos bloc as the first commercial scale CO2-storage in the southeast Mediterranean Sea. Greece has collaborated with France and Italy to develop and include the Prinos CO2 storage in the Mediterranean CCS Strategic Plan. As we mentioned previously, some of the Prinos bloc is quite mature and some wells have been depleted. So, with infrastructure in place the producers could potentially be converted to injector wells. This is another great example of repurposing assets to avoid the energy consumption and emissions generated to create a new CCS facility.
The Prinos CCS project is located in a depleted oil field in the Gulf of Kavala, 18 km south of the mainland of Northern Greece, in water depths of 30 to 38 m. In 2022, Pre-FEED was awarded to Halliburton to assess the carbon storage subsurface potential of the Prinos Field Complex. Phase one goal of the CCS project is to store 1 MTPA of CO2 captured and transported from carbon emission sources within 150 km of Prinos’ onshore Sigma Plant. The Sigma Plant contains pre-existing gas infrastructure, which will be repurposed for carbon capture. The gas will be transported to the existing Kappa platform offshore via a 32 km pipeline.
The obvious commitment to reduce their carbon footprint is exciting to the EU given their support for the projects in Greece. It is certainly exciting to Pontem, which is why we have engaged with Dr. Sarris and the Aristotle University. His expertise and involvement in hydrocarbon research and knowledge of geology and rock mechanics will be critical to advance technology within Greece to produce natural gas and effectively capture CO2.
At Pontem, many of us are full steam ahead in 10+ year careers made in the oilfield. We’ve been successful because we’re problem solvers and we truly enjoy making a difference with our clients. We’re interested in data and making sense of it in a way that helps clients make intelligent decisions. While our roots are firmly planted in Oil & Gas, we are continuously expanding and we believe our approach translates to other industries and different parts of the world. We don’t have to be in Greeley or Midland…and if given a choice, Thessaloniki is pretty charming!
With that, we couldn’t resist some Ouzo and Tsipouro tasting in the evening in that charming, Greek atmosphere. Besides, there is some sort of flow assurance lesson here. As one does when in Greece…
Flow Assurance Is Everywhere…Even Ouzo
Kostas, being Greek and in his element, started chatting with the waiters to ensure we were locals, deserving of the top shelf drinks and best dishes of the night, rather than the tourist versions. With Ouzo in hand, our waiter explained “magic” occurs with the addition of water. But they didn’t know that not only we have a Greek person on the team, but as FA people we can reveal the secret to everybody on why that’s happening (it’s not “abracadabra”!).
Ouzo and Tsipouro, traditional Greek anise-flavored liquors, turn white when water is added due to a phenomenon known as the "louche effect”, which in fact is a spontaneous emulsification (FA dictionary). The specific appearance and intensity of the cloudiness can vary depending on the concentration of essential oils and the temperature of the water added.
This effect occurs because they contain essential oils from anise, primarily anethole, which are soluble in alcohol but not in water.
If you want to have a “Check out the big brain on Brett” Quentin Tarantino moment with your friends, wow them with this:
Solubility of Anethole: Anethole is soluble in ethanol but has very low solubility in water. In pure ouzo, which is usually around 80 proof, the anethole remains dissolved, giving the drink its clear appearance.
Addition of Water: When water is added, the overall alcohol concentration decreases. As the concentration of alcohol drops, the anethole becomes less soluble. When the alcohol concentration falls below a certain threshold, the anethole starts to come out of the solution.
Formation of Emulsion: As the anethole precipitates out, it forms tiny droplets dispersed throughout the mixture. This dispersion of fine droplets of oil in the water creates an emulsion, which scatters light, making the liquid appear white or cloudy.
Kostas thinks anethole is like asphaltenes and ouzo represents the reservoir fluid. As water is added, the AOP is crossed and suddenly anethole destabilizes. He also wanted to run some emulsion viscosity vs water concentration tests to show that but thankfully the waiter didn’t have a rheometer on hand! We were stuck with souvlaki. Which was amazing!
Overall, the visit to Greece was fruitful and very productive. Unlocking academic collaborations in the region helps us to contribute more to the industry as well as giving more knowledge and real-life experience to new generations. We are more than excited to visit such a great institution as AUTH, and we are looking forward for closer collaborations. More to come!