Wednesday 26 July 2017

Greek offshore explorer Hellenic Petroleum has won “millions of dollars of investments” to “diversity its activities” into renewable energy.

The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) on Wednesday signed off on the first project under its new €300 million ($348 million) framework for renewable energy in Greece by subscribing to €28.3 million in bonds issued by Hellenic.

The funds will support Hellenic in developing a pipeline of photovoltaic and wind projects with a combined capacity of 190MW across Greece.

The total volume of the bond issuance was €450 million in two tranches, with the EBRD subscribing to the second tranche of €74.5 million alongside the Black Sea Trade & Development Bank and other selected institutional investors.

“We are very pleased to support Hellenic in diversifying their business into renewable energy,” EBRD director of power and energy utilities, Harry Boyd-Carpenter said.

“Our new renewables support scheme in Greece lays a sustainable foundation for the development of the sector, in particular by using a competitive mechanism. The success of such a strong and experienced company as Hellenic is a real endorsement for that mechanism,” Boyd-Carpenter said.

“The EBRD has been a long-standing partner of Hellenic and this transaction presents us with another opportunity to increase the scope of our cooperation. The EBRD’s commitment to Greece and the renewables sector is aligned with our own strategy and supports economic growth and investment in the country,” Hellenic chief executive Andreas Shiamishis added.

Last month, Hellenic and ExxonMobil won approval from Greek authorities for a pair of exploration tracts in the eastern Mediterranean. The region continues to be one of the hottest regions for gas prospecting, following on from huge discoveries such as the Noble Energy-led group’s Leviathan off Israel, Aphrodite off Cyprus and Eni’s massive Zohr find off Egypt.