Europe Revives Domestic Oil and Gas Exploration After Years of Restrictions

European countries are resuming exploration for domestic oil and gas deposits after years of prioritizing renewable energy over fossil fuel development, according to executives leading new drilling campaigns across the Mediterranean.

Italy has emerged as the latest country to reverse exploration restrictions after a court overturned laws prohibiting new oil and gas activities. Energean, one of Europe’s largest independent gas producers, is now negotiating new exploration licenses in Italian waters adjacent to promising sites in Greece, CEO Mathios Rigas said in an interview published Saturday by the Financial Times.

“I’m not saying that we have already achieved the goal, but at least we are actively negotiating the resumption of exploration work,” Rigas said. “The Italian government is actively considering the possibility of allowing new types of activities, although a few years ago this issue was not even on the agenda.”

Multiple European countries had effectively banned new fossil fuel exploration as governments pursued aggressive climate targets. Italy now joins Greece in relaxing restrictions, with Greece awarding its first offshore exploration license in over four decades in November to a consortium including ExxonMobil, Energean, and HelleniQ Energy.

European nations continue investing heavily in renewable energy but have slowed their transition timelines over the past year as energy security concerns mounted following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Rigas told the Financial Times that more ambitious policy changes would be needed for Europe to achieve energy independence. Long-term European gas projects will need to compete with supplies from the United States and Qatar, both of which have expanded liquefied natural gas exports to European markets.

The November Greek license for Block 2 in the Ionian Sea could contain up to 200 billion cubic meters of natural gas, though extensive drilling planned for late 2026 or early 2027 will determine commercial viability. Greece consumes approximately six billion cubic meters of gas annually and plans to export surplus production to other European markets.

“It’s a big change in policy for Greece that has shifted from ‘we don’t want hydrocarbons, only renewables’, to a new narrative that exploration for gas is key for energy security,” Rigas said in December following the license announcement.

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