Aim of the Workshop
The fifth EAGE Eastern Mediterranean Workshop seeks to advance discussions on key aspects of hydrocarbon exploration and development across the Eastern Mediterranean. Participants will dive into the performance and prospectivity of regional petroleum systems, sharing case studies and insights from exploration successes and challenges that have shaped current development strategies. Emphasis will be placed on new technologies, including advances in seismic data processing, imaging, and AI applications, all essential for reducing exploration risk in challenging environments such as deep and ultra-deep waters.
This workshop will also address the evolving East Mediterranean market landscape, covering tendering rounds, infrastructure needs, regulatory frameworks, and financing opportunities that enable growth in the region. The energy transition theme will examine the critical role of hydrocarbons in a low-carbon future, with a focus on carbon capture, synthetic fuels, and energy storage. These discussions will consider the interaction with local communities and the social license to operate, aiming to balance economic growth with environmental and community responsibilities.
By fostering collaboration across these topics, the workshop aims to bridge the Eastern Mediterranean’s unique resources with the global goals of energy security and sustainability, drawing insights from international perspectives and expertise.
The Eastern Mediterranean region
The Eastern Mediterranean has emerged as a prominent petroleum province and a global exploration hotspot, fueled by major gas discoveries in offshore Egypt, Cyprus, and the Levant Basin, with promising developments in Greece and Lebanon. These resources are increasingly vital for energy security and the role of natural gas as a transitional fuel.
The region’s complex geodynamic history evolved from two extensional (Tethyan) passive continental margins to one dominated by Alpine collision, with mountain building and neotectonic subduction-accretion along its northern flank. Rifting was initiated in the Permo-Triassic, continued through the Mesozoic and was characterized by the development of a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate platform attached to the African, Arabian and Eurasian plates as well as the formation of isolated carbonate outer-high platforms located on continental blocks (e.g., Eratosthenes, Ionian Sea and around Apulia). These carbonate platforms (reefs, slopes, calciturbidites etc.) offer attractive exploration targets for the industry.
The subsequent influx of siliciclastic sediments due to the tilting of the African-Arabian shoulders and the initiation of Cenozoic (Tauride, Hellenide, Albanide, Apennine and Dinaride) fold-and-thrust systems during the late Oligocene to early Miocene gave birth to younger reservoirs. Subsequent marine isolation and evaporation led to the formation of a thick salt layer during the Messinian Salinity Crisis; before rejuvenated clastic systems were deposited during the Late Neogene in response to northward drainage off the African continent (Nile Delta).
In an effort to unlock the petroleum resources below the Messinian salt layer, ambitious geological and geophysical exploration and drilling has taken place that seeks to identify unexplored prospects in offshore areas. Their identification will require further geological understanding and more technical development in geophysical imaging, rock mechanics and reservoir properties before proceeding to drilling and field development. More recently, attention has turned towards addressing the challenges of the energy transition, decarbonisation and meeting net zero emission targets. With a continuous demand for oil and gas to meet energy needs, the role of local supplies that carry a lower carbon footprint becomes even more important.
In summary, the East Mediterranean region stands out as a developing energy province, rich in natural gas reserves and with an indisputable renewable energy potential. Future plans and developments are expected to facilitate alternative low carbon products from the area (e.g., through carbon sequestration, hydrogen, methanol and ammonia production, storage and transportation, geothermal, offshore wind and solar power). Evaluating and re-purposing the subsurface will add a cyclic economy component and cross sectorial value to the needs of the region.
