Mineral Resources of Greece - Legal and Regulatory Framework

Specialization / Direction

The course is also offered to exchange programme students.

This course broadly covers the Law and policy of Oil and Gas in Greece. The aim is not just for the students to understand the Law itself, but to understand the scientific and societal context for the law. Thus, parts of the course concern the science, technology, economics, and business of Oil and Gas. Are also explored the politics and social effects of Oil and Gas development in the country. Because of the complex energy and climate challenges that we face today, energy transition towards clean, flexible, sustainable, and affordable energy solutions is at the top of the national agenda. The objective of this course is also to provide the students with the necessary knowledge required for contributing to "clean and affordable energy for all" goal. This will be achieved in this course via enabling the students with the necessary knowledge about geothermal energy resources and relevant Legislations to utilize such resources in various applications, and to supply electricity and heating/cooling demands. After studying this course, students should be able to explain the principles that underlie the ability of geothermal energy to deliver useable energy, outline the technologies that are used to harness the power of geothermal energy, discuss the positive and negative aspects of geothermal energy in relation to natural and human aspects of the environment. This course also examines law and policy relating to the ownership and development of mineral resources in Greece. It covers the constitutional powers of the Government in relation to mining law and regulation; the development of legislation with reference to the exploration and production of minerals; and the enforcement of mining law. The course emphasizes the various policy concerns underlying the legislative regimes, such as the importance of minerals in modern societies, and environmental protection. Environmental controls over mining and rehabilitation of land are also discussed. Finally, the Quarries Regulations are presented. Quarry rehabilitation can strike a balance between the need for development, economic aspect, environment, and social aspects in the long term that produces a sustainable quarrying industry that can benefit the Government as well as the local economy. Another objective of this course is to identify the present status of quarry rehabilitation implementation and examine what the existing legislative framework provides on quarry rehabilitation.

The Legal and Regulatory framework of Hydrocarbon licensing in Greece is thoroughly presented. The Law of the sea, the Exclusive Economic Zones and the concepts of "Internal waters", "Territorial waters", "Contiguous zone" and "Continental shelf)" are defined. The allocation of exploration and production rights in Greece based on the relevant Legislation are examined. Greek oil and gas legal framework is mainly provided in Law 2289/1995 (Hydrocarbon Law) which has transposed Directive 94/22/EC. Law 2289/1995 established the basic rules for the exploitation of hydrocarbons in Greece and outlined the requirements for the licensing of the respective rights. Law 4001/2011 incorporated the provisions of Directive 2009/72/EC [licensing rules for oil and gas in the EU's Prospection, Exploration, and Production of Hydrocarbon Directive]. Moreover, Law 4001/2011 establishes a state-owned company, under the name “Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company S.A. (HEREMA S.A.)”, to provide an innovative and effective management in a wide spectrum of activities: Exploration & Production concessions, overview of the signed lease agreements, offshore safety, and active promotion of Greece as an attractive oil and gas destination to international investors. Law 4001/2011 modernizes the legal framework for the exploration and the exploitation of hydrocarbons, with adaptation to good international practices and international experience, providing a transparent, competitive and investor-friendly Legal framework. The procedures for granting Exploration & Exploitation rights on behalf of the Greek State [Licensing Round, after expression of interest (EOI), or the Open Door procedure], are also presented in detail. An analysis is also made of the Tax regime that governs all stages of the prospecting, exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons based on the relevant Legislation. Biddable & Negotiable Terms are analyzed. Finally, references are made to the Legislations for the liberalization of the National Natural Gas Transmission System and the Energy Sector in general, as well as to the Projects of Common Interest (PCI’s), cross-border infrastructure projects, which connect energy systems of European Union's member states. The Legislation governing the Mining and Minerals Industry in Greece, which is based on the so-called Mining Code, a “user manual” which covers anything related to mining activities, is also presented in detail. Apart from the Mining Code there is also the Regulation Mining and Quarrying Works, which has been published in 2011 and covers the regulations regarding the safety and health of workers and local residents, the protection of the environment and the right way to perform mining activities. A detailed presentation of Law 4512/2018, Part B "Exploration and Exploitation of Quarry Minerals and other provisions", is included in the courses. The students are taught all Legal issues related to Geothermal energy, based on Law 4602/2019, which modernized the regulatory framework for geothermal energy, as this Law replaced Law 3175/2003 (Government Gazette A' 207) abolishing the concepts of "probable" and "confirmed" field. Geothermal fields are henceforth distinguished as of local or of national interest. References are also made to the Greek Legislative Framework for Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP’s) and direct use geothermal technologies serving heating and cooling applications. Finally, the course also presents: Law 4409/2016, imposing on operators the obligation to ensure that all necessary measures are taken for the prevention of serious accidents in offshore hydrocarbon operations [this Law has transposed Directive 2013/30/EU into Greek law]. The National Climate Law 4936/2022 on the transition to climate neutrality and adaptation to climate change. Law 4685/2020 on the reform of the environmental legislation and the renewable energy sources licensing process. Law 4685/2020 on the reform of the environmental legislation and the renewable energy sources licensing process. Law 4512/2018 on Arrangements for the Implementation of the Structural Reforms of the Economic Adjustment Programmes and Other Provisions.

28-02-2025