Offshore exploration in Greece has been dormant since the 1990s, but new seismic and the industry's renewed interest in carbonate plays such as the recent Zohr discovery in the Eastern Mediterranean are bringing major operators to the region.

Recent interest in the areas south-west and west of Crete and in the Ionian Sea between Greece and southern Italy have brought western Greece to the attention of the oil and gas exploration industry, spurred on by East Mediterranean discoveries like Zohr in Egypt and Aphrodite in Cyprus.

Since November 2016, the Hellenic Hydrocarbon Resources Management State Company (HHRM) focused its commercial action on promoting larger surface concessions.