“The green transition is necessary, and it will become a reality. What we need is a realistic plan that will take into account costs, security of supply, environmental footprint and see developments with realism,” Andreas Shiamishis, CEO of Helleniq Energy, said at the 9th Delphi Economic Forum.
Shiamishis explained that the transition to RES will not be achieved automatically, stressing that recent developments show that the system is not technically ready to depend exclusively on RES. In this context, he said that Helleniq Energy Group is adapting its strategy to be part of the solution in the next 20-30 years.
“This is an ongoing situation, not something static. We have had intense pressure from climate change and other international factors, but a decision has been taken to refrain from fossil fuels and move towards renewables. No one disagrees that it is right, but in between there is oil and gas,” he added.
“We are about 12-18 months away from the decision for exploratory drilling,” he said, stressing that the company has concluded seismic surveys for hydrocarbons in South Crete and the Ionian Sea and is analyzing the data. He added that if the decision for exploratory drilling is taken, the decision for exploitation is still a few months away.
Shiamishis referred to new projects of up to 4 billion euros that the group will implement in the coming years, with the aim of exploiting new green technologies. As he said, the construction of a large hub is expected in Thessaloniki within the next decade. It will combine photovoltaic projects of 600 megawatts with the group’s refinery and then with batteries, aimed at producing green hydrogen. At the same time, the group aims to capture carbon dioxide and collect and store it to create “blue” hydrogen, with the aim of producing synthetic fuels with a very low footprint.
In this context, he underlined the importance of the 11% placement on the Athens Stock Exchange.
