Chevron expands Med presence with Greece leases

Chevron has signed lease agreements with the Greek government for four offshore exploration blocks, expanding its footprint in the Eastern Mediterranean and reinforcing its regional growth plan. The U.S. supermajor will operate the blocks through four Dutch subsidiaries with a 70% stake, alongside HELLENiQ ENERGY, which holds the remaining 30%.

The acreage includes two blocks south of Crete, named South Crete 1 and South Crete 2, and two areas in the Peloponnese basin, South of Peloponnese and Block A2. Under the lease terms, the consortium will carry out 2D and 3D seismic surveys in the first exploration phase to assess hydrocarbon potential.

These agreements still require ratification by the Greek Parliament before they enter into force. Chevron has described the deals as another milestone in its Mediterranean growth strategy, which is focused on pursuing new upstream opportunities in a basin that has delivered some of the most significant gas discoveries of the past decade.

Chevron already operates two producing gas fields offshore Israel and is developing Cyprus’ Aphrodite field. In Egypt, it operates two exploration blocks and participates in a non-operated Mediterranean joint venture. The new Greek leases add frontier ultra-deepwater acreage in an area seen as geologically comparable to nearby discovery zones.

The company’s Greece entry comes shortly after it secured onshore Block S4 in Libya on February 11 and signed memoranda of understanding to assess additional opportunities in Libya, Turkey and Syria. Together, these moves show Chevron assembling optionality across multiple Mediterranean jurisdictions amid renewed upstream momentum.

For Greece, the agreements align with a broader strategy to reduce energy import dependence and tap prospective deepwater resources. While the country has yet to match the scale of discoveries offshore Israel, Cyprus and Egypt, south of Crete has drawn increasing interest from international operators, including Chevron.

For investors tracking Chevron, listed on the NYSE as CVX, the Greek and Libyan acreage additions arrive during a period of solid share price performance. The stock trades at about US$183.74, up 17.9% year to date and 22.4% over the past year, with a five-year return of 127.7%.

Consensus analyst targets currently average around US$181.67, meaning the shares trade modestly above that level. However, Simply Wall St’s valuation work indicates the stock is trading roughly 51.2% below an estimated fair value, highlighting a significant modelled valuation gap even as headline performance has been strong.

Key factors for the equity story include how Chevron allocates capital to ultra-deepwater projects like Greece, the pace and outcome of seismic work, and any resulting reserve additions. Investors are also watching traditional metrics such as the company’s price-to-earnings ratio of 29.6 compared with an oil and gas industry average of 14.5, as well as flagged risks around insider selling and dividend coverage.

Chevron has framed the Greek blocks as part of a long-term Mediterranean strategy that also supports European gas market integration and energy security. The region’s infrastructure buildout and geopolitical focus on secure supplies following disruptions linked to the Russia-Ukraine war have elevated the strategic value of Mediterranean gas, according to the company’s description of the basin.

By adding ultra-deepwater Greek acreage to producing and pre-development assets in Israel, Cyprus and Egypt, alongside Libyan onshore positions, Chevron is broadening its upstream resource base and jurisdictional spread. The near-term milestones will center on completing seismic surveys, securing parliamentary ratification in Greece and progressing early-stage work in the newly awarded Libyan block.