Landmark decision for the implementation of a strategic energy project
Athens, 26 February 2026 – The Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company (HEREMA), as Greece’s competent licensing authority for the geological storage of CO2, announces that the storage permit for “Prinos CO2”—a strategic project of national importance—has been issued and granted to project operator EnEarth Greece, a subsidiary of Energean. This landmark decision confirms that the geological formation in Prinos is suitable to use for CO2 storage, provided that the designated procedures and conditions, as defined in the permit, are fully observed. This decision concludes the core licensing stage stipulated by Greek and EU legislation, a process that began in 2022 with the issuing of the exploration permit to assess CO2 storage potential in the area.
The permit is valid for 25 years and covers the storage site and storage complex within the Prinos concession area, off the coast of Kavala. The storage site is designated as the depleted oil field and its underlying saline aquifer—that is, the geological formation where CO2 will be stored underground at a depth of approximately 3km beneath the seabed—along with the associated surface injection and production facilities. The maximum permitted injection rate during the first phase of the project amounts to one million tonnes of CO2 per year.
The issuance of the storage permit follows the comprehensive and documented evaluation of the application dossier submitted by the project operator, as well as the relevant opinion from DG CLIMA—the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Climate Action, leading the effort to combat climate change. During the evaluation of the dossier and the storage permit preparation, HEREMA had the support of established consultants ΕΥ, reputable law firm NKLaw, as well as the specialized technical consultants Axis Well Technology (Axis)—a company that carries extensive experience in the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) sector and has contributed to the technical evaluation of many CO2 storage projects in the United Kingdom.
The project will start operations with the injection of the first volumes of CO2, provided that HEREMA verifies that the project developer has fulfilled all relevant obligations, as defined in the storage permit. These include the approval of the set of plans governing project safety—such as the final storage plan, the revised risk management plan, the updated monitoring plan, the updated corrective measures plan, and the provisional closure and post-closure plan.
The underground storage of CO2 at the depleted Prinos oil field constitutes a project of critical importance and a key infrastructure of national and European interest, in the context of Greece’s integrated energy and climate strategy and protection of domestic industry. “Prinos CO2” is co-financed by European funds through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), and is monitored by the European Commission and DG CLIMA.