We have always focused on winning and maintaining the good will of the communities that host our operations. Since the day in 2008 when we took over operations at Prinos, we have always looked to positively engage with our stakeholders in Kavala and the wider East Macedonia & Thrace Region, in North Greece.
The Prinos CO2 Storage facility, operated by our specialist subsidiary EnEarth, is a regionally significant infrastructure development project will exceed 1 billion euros of investment when fully developed. It is the largest industrial investment in Greece, and will bring significant benefits to the local communities of the region, as part of EnEarth’s regional decarbonization hub. The hub is focused on Prinos CO2, and will include additional complementary projects such as the recently announced Direct Air Capture & Storage JV with RepAir.
Ahead of the launch of the official public consultation on the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of the project, we co-organised an engagement and information meeting with the regional authorities that took place on Tuesday, October 15 at Kavala. We were very pleased to hear the Head of the Region Mr. Christodoulos Topsides, who in his speech, praised Energean for its HSE excellency over the decades, and confirmed the Region will to support any efforts that result in the sustainable economic growth of local communities. Also, the Vice Head of Kavala, Mr. Theodoros Markopoulos thanked Energean for being a responsible operator and undertook the initiative to thoroughly informed the stakeholders on this important project. He also pointed out the importance the continuation of the oil production has for the local economy and employment.
The key characteristics of the Prinos CO2 Storage project and the benefits for the local communities were presented by Mrs. Sofia Stamataki, former Professor of the School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens. She also presented briefly the HERCCULES and the COREu research programmes. Mr. Kostis Nikolopoulos, Head of LDK Group in the Environment and Water Sectors, presented the parameters and all the provisions and measures that ensure the safe and effective operation of the project that have been included in the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment.
The meeting was also attended by Thematic Vice-Regional Governors Mr. Alexandros Iosifidis (Development), Mr. Argyris Patakakis (Environment), Mr. Panagiotis Archontis (Tourism), Mr. George Dalakouras (Health), the Executive Director Mr. Stelios Ignatiadis, the Mayor of Kavala Mr. Theodorow Mouriades the Central Port Governor of Kavala Captain of the Hellenic Coast Guard Mr. Ath. Vryzas, the Commander of the Kavala Fire Brigade Mr. Kyriakos Mandranis, the President of the Technical Chamber of Eastern Macedonia Mr. S. Lazaridis, the President of the Geotechnical Chamber Mr. Z. Mistakidis, the representative of the Economic Chamber of Greece Mr. G. Christodoulides, the representative of the Union of Greek Chemists and the Department of Chemistry of the Democritus University of Thrace, Assistant Professor Mrs. Ath. Tolkou, as well as the involved officials of the Kavala Regional Administration.
In addition to the speakers, Energean was represented by Mr. Vasilis Tsetoglou, Director of Health, Safety and Environment of the Energean Group and Prinos Asset Manager, Ms. Paschalia Kiomourtzi, Prinos Subsurface Lead, Mr. Efstathios Skarvelas, Well Delivery Manager,, Mr. Yiannis Charalambidis, Head of Legal in Greece, and Mr. Artemis Barbounis, Corporate Affairs Manager in Greece, who responded positively to specific questions submitted by the stakeholders.