Project Description
Up to US$ 75 million loan to Energean Oil and Gas S.A, of which USD$ 25 million are expected to be syndicated, to a Greek oil company, for the further development of its existing offshore oil fields in the Gulf of Kavala in Greece.
Project Objectives
Support the development of the only private upstream oil and gas company producing in Greece and cooperate with the Greek government in providing assistance for improving the environmental and safety regulations and guidelines for the industry.
Transition Impact
ETI score: 60
The Company is introducing new technologies for minimising overall costs and promoting operational efficiency by aiming to successfully install and operate a relatively new platform design in Energean's offshore field development in the Gulf of Kavala. The Bank will also assist the company in raising its Environmental Health and Safety standards and procedures by adopting an Environmental Social and Action Plan. Finally, the Bank will provide technical support to the Greek government to achieve international best practice in the oil and gas sector.
Client Information
ENERGEAN OIL AND GAS SA
Energean Oil and Gas SA is a private company active in the exploration and production of oil and gas in the Mediterranean basin. Energean has a portfolio of producing assets in Greece and assets in exploration in Egypt and Israel.
EBRD Finance Summary
USD 111,250,000.00
Total Project Cost
USD 322,750,016.00
Environmental and Social Summary
Categorised A (ESP 2014): Offshore oil and gas developments may be associated with various, potentially significant, environmental and social (E&S) impacts, which at the time of categorisation, cannot readily be identified or assessed, and which, therefore, require a formalised and participatory environmental and social impact assessment process. The Company has developed a comprehensive Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) package, which has been disclosed for the minimum required period of 60 days prior to the Project being approved by the EBRD's Board of Directors.
The Project involves the expansion of an existing offshore oil and gas development in the Gulf of Kavala in Greece. The Gulf of Kavala is part of the Thracian Sea and falls within North East Aegean Sea. The Company operates an offshore complex of four platforms, connecting pipelines, pipelines to shore and an onshore processing plant in the Gulf of Kavala. These facilities have been operating for 35 years. The offshore complex is located 18km offshore from the town of Kavala and 8km from the island of Thasos. Oil and gas produced offshore is partially processed offshore before being pumped to shore for final processing and export by tanker. The Project to be financed by the EBRD includes the addition of a new unmanned platform, connecting pipelines to the exiting offshore complex and the drilling of wells. In the future, the Company may install a second platform together with additional wells. Production rates from existing fields have been in the decline and the development plan will therefore increase production closer to previous rates. The increase in production will not exceed the current design capacity of the existing offshore and onshore infrastructure or exceed the permitted production volumes accommodated in the past.
The Company has developed a comprehensive Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) package for the Project and its own future development plans. This ESIA serves the purpose of meeting the Bank's ESIA requirements and those for local EIA permitting. The ESIA will be submitted to the Greek authorities soon after public disclosure. The ESIA therefore considers Greek and EU environmental requirements as well as the EBRD Performance Requirements. The ESIA focusses primarily on the offshore Project. In addition, the ESIA package includes the recently reissued ESIA for the onshore processing plant and a summary thereof including current E&S performance. The Project does not require any change to the onshore facility. The existing facilities are in compliance with relevant national and EU standards.
The Project may be associated with various environmental and social impacts during construction, during operation together with the existing facilities and during decommissioning.
These impacts are considered in the ESIA and include: impacts to marine biodiversity through disturbances to the seabed, the presence of Project and noise generating activities; emissions (GHG emissions from the Project will not increase current emissions by more than 25 000 tonnes of CO2e) and discharges to air and the sea through general operations and discharges of treated produced water; limited modifications to the seabed; interactions with other marine users such as fishermen; worker and community health and safety; H2S risks (the crude is characterised by high levels of hydrogen sulphide) as well as risks associated with unplanned events or accidents such as oil spills. Contd...
Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing
ESD Contd:
Health and safety risks have been assessed through a Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) while environmental and social impacts have been assessed through various baseline surveys, consideration of secondary data, the Project design and through the process of impact assessment. Although the Project is not located in a protected area, many of the nearby coastal areas are Natura 2000 areas and also include a Ramsar site and a national park. These areas as well as the beaches are used for tourism as well as fishing activities. The Project is located sufficiently distant from these areas to not result in any impacts to these areas or their conservation objectives from routine activities. A major oil spill could, however, result in significant impact on these areas. Oil spill modelling has, however, determined that the potential for a spill to reach the coast and impact these areas is very low and existing management and design controls and measures are appropriate to avoid the potential for a spill and contain and address a spill if one should occur. The ESIA has confirmed that many of the existing environmental and social (include H&S) provisions are adequate to manage the impacts associated with the Project and existing operations. The ESIA has, however, identified various mitigation measures that are required to be implemented during construction and drilling activities. For example, measures to reduce noise and the impacts of marine mammals if present at the time of construction or drilling. These together with existing mitigation and management provisions are captured in a series of framework environmental and social management plans, which will be fully developed pre-construction and integrated into the Company's existing E&S management system with modifications made where necessary.
The ESIA package was disclosed on 4 March 2016 and has been in the public domain for a minimum period of 60 days. The ESIA disclosure has been guided by the Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) developed by the Company and includes copies of the ESIA online and in various physical locations. This was supplemented with various public meetings as required by the EBRD and there will be additional disclosure and consultation by the Greek environmental authorities as part of their approval process. This consultation and information disclosure built upon earlier consultation undertaken during the development of the ESIA. The EBRD attended some of these meetings and confirmed that the Company adequately carried out the meetings in line with the SEP and EBRD's requirements.
An Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) has been agreed with the Company to bring the Project and existing operations in line with the Bank's Performance Requirements. Key ESAP actions include integration of the necessary mitigation and management measures into the existing E&S management system; implementation of measures to avoid and minimise impacts to marine ecology especially marine mammals; development of a full GHG inventory on an annual basis; and implementation of the SEP and the grievance mechanism for the life of the Project.
2020 update
The Epsilon Project is on hold, since the EPCI contract with GSP was suspended in April 2020, due to Covid-19. In the Epsilon field, pre-drilling of wells EL-1, EL-2, EL-3 has been completed. Well planning and design for EL-1/2/3 completions and lateral options continue. The platform (Lamda) is still under construction in the GSP ship yard in Constanta, Romania. Construction has largely been on hold during 2020. At the end of the year, jacket fabrication was 85% complete, piles fabrication 75% complete and deck fabrication 35%. An annual environmental and social report submitted by the Company in April 2021 confirmed that the Company is managing its current operations and drilling programme in line with its environmental and social requirements and those of the EBRD. All necessary E&S provisions have been incorporated in the design of Lamda. Implementation of the ESAP is on track and satisfactory to the EBRD.
Technical Cooperation
EUR 445,000 grant funds to provide technical assistance to Hellenic Hydrocarbons Resources Management SA for the implementation of the EU Directive on safety for offshore operations and the development of an economic model.
Company Contact Information
Irini Smaragdi
info@energean.com
+ 302108174200
+ 302108174299
www.energean.com
32, Kifissias Avenue, Atrina Center 151 25 Marousi, Greece
PSD last updated
11 May 2021
Understanding Transition
Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.
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Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)
The ESP and the associated Performance Requirements (PRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”. The ESP and the PRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation as well as to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about environmental and social performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD additionally requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts arising from projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.
More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.
Integrity and Compliance
The EBRD's Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all activities of the Bank in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The Bank believes that identifying and resolving issues at the project assessment approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts, and also helps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.
OCCO is also responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, both within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. All matters reported will be handled by OCCO for follow-up. All reports, including anonymous ones, will be reviewed. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank's countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.
Access to Information Policy (AIP)
The AIP sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders so as to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations following its entry into force on 1 January 2020. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.
Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.
Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)
If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (e.g. through the Client’s Project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).
IPAM independently reviews Project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the Mechanism is: to support dialogue between Project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or Project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.
Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate; how to submit a Request for review; or contact IPAM via email ipam@ebrd.com to get guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.
