The environmental impact of the large project of carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage in a depleted deposit in the marine area of Prinos, implemented by EnEarth (a subsidiary of the Energean Group), was the focus of an informative meeting held at the Kavala Region, in the presence of the Regional Governor of AMTH, Christodoulos Topsidis, with the participation of local stakeholders and officials involved.

It should be noted that the underground storage in a depleted deposit in the area of Prinos, off the Gulf of Kavala, is the first licensed CO2 storage project in Greece, with a budget of 150 million euros, which has been included for funding from the Recovery Fund.

Opening the informative meeting, Christodoulos Topsidis, the Regional Governor of AMTH, thanked Energean for its intention to inform the Region and all stakeholders of Kavala about its new project, the Carbon dioxide Capture System (CCS).

"We are following this effort with interest", underlined the regional governor, "as it is firstly innovative, in the sense that there is no precedent for the application of the same method at least in our country and also, the conception of this idea comes to provide a response to what we define, globally as the "greenhouse effect" and climate change. A practical response which, if successfully implemented, may contribute to a better future for our planet and for our children.

"The pro-environmental dimension of this business effort and the EU's support for it are two guarantees that perhaps signal an excellent prospect," Mr. Topsidis pointed out.

The regional governor made special reference to the investments that Energean and its group are implementing in the wider area of the Gulf of Kavala, underlining that the company has grown significantly in recent years.

"For us, however, it is a priority," he stressed, "not to stop oil production in the Gulf of Kavala alongside the new activity. I don't need to restate that if our country is included among the oil-producing countries, it is included because of the deposits in Kavala Bay. Our indispensable point, alongside the protection of the environment, is the safety of the installations, of the people working there and of the production process. In both of these areas, the company and its people have received 'A' grades throughout these decades".

ENVIROMENTAL ASSESSMENT

Next, Sophia Stamataki, Professor at the School of Metallurgical Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens, presented in detail how the CO2 storage project in Prinos will operate and referred to the environmental and socio-economic benefits it entails.

For his part, Kostis Nikolopoulos, Head of the LDK Group in the Environment and Water sectors, presented the parameters and all the provisions and measures that ensure the smooth operation of the project, which are included in the Environmental Impact Study, which is to be submitted for public consultation by the Region of Eastern Macedonia - Thrace, after the completion of the completeness check of the relevant file by the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

During the information meeting, which lasted for three hours, the presenters and the relevant executives of the Energean Group answered a series of questions raised by local stakeholders and relevant officials.