Dr. Spyridon Bellas is a Principal Researcher at the Institute of Geoenergy (IG) of the Foundation for Research & Technology -Hellas (FORTH) and currently is acting as the Scientific Council’s Chair. He studied Geology at Patras University, Greece and holds a Ph.D. in Natural Sciences from the Freie Universtität Berlin, Germany (FU-Berlin), studying bio- and lithostratigraphy of deep-water foreland basin clastics, developing Eocene to Miocene age world-wide correlations. He was DAAD & ERASMUS Scholar in Germany.
Between 2016 and 2020, he held the position of Vice President, Executive BoD (Upstream), in the State Company Hellenic Hydrocarbons Resources Management S.A. (former HHRM SA). Since 2011 he became a key player and team leader of the hydrocarbons Working Group (Ministry of Environment & Energy, Upstream: Hydrocarbons Directorate). He had been Member & Negotiator in various Evaluation Committees for Awarding Blocks of E&P Licensing (On- and Offshore), in Technical Advisory Cmtes., Member of other Committees such as, the Prinos Production Field, the South Kavala Underground Gas Storage Project, the Maritime Licensing (MFA) and the Environmental Preservation of Limin Keri (Zakynthos oil seeps & leakages), while he has initiated many SEIAs, in the framework required for future sustainable Exploration. Further, he was the Oil & Gas Expert representative of Greece in the European Federation of Geologists (EFG).
Between 2003 and 2016 he worked as Senior Geoscientist at the Central Laboratory of Public Works, Geo-Engineering Dept. (Gen. Division for QC), Athens, while lecturing applied geology at various Universities: FU-Berlin, Universities of Aegean, Crete, Ioannina, Patras, Western Macedonia, Athens, Panteion, and Piraeus as well as at the Higher School of Pedagogical & Technological Education. He was three times External Evaluator of the Greek Authority for the Evaluation of the Quality of the Higher Educational Institutes (HQA, evaluating Academically Institutions of Greece) and owns the “C. Ktenas” Prize for the Natural Sciences of the Greek Academy of Sciences (2000). Between 1997 and 2002 he was appointed the position of Scientific Assistant at the Geoscience Department of FU-Berlin, where he lectured and carried out research. Spyros has many publications in peer reviewed journals, and has given numerous invited talks while promoting the energy independency of the country together with the request for sources diversification of the EU and the environmentally safe (geo-)storage issue (i.e. AAPG, ICE, EAGE, GSG, NAPE, CEEC). His research interests include exploration for new hydrocarbons source rocks, reservoir analogs and geothermal energy, Carbon management (CCS), submarine surveys (offshore wind farms and derisking factors impact), hydrogen underground storage (UHS) and natural hydrogen. He also demonstrates a strong industrial focus, to deliver practical solutions in his fields of interest.
RECENT PROJECTS
2022 - 2026: TWINN2SET (Twinning to Sustainable Energy Transition). Studying the geological factors affecting UHS in potential Greek sites (from field to modeling tools- WP Research Lead). In cooperation with Norwegian University of Stavanger (UiS) and the French Research Center IFP Energies Nouvelles (IFPEN). EU funding, European Research Executive Agency (REA) under grant agreement No 101079246.
2023 - 2027: Restoration of ecological processes of the Keri Lake wetland, Zakynthos (Oil & gas seepage onshore, geochemistry & related to legacy wells modeling, PI). Funding provided by the Green Fund.
2024-2027: BLUEQ - Applied Solutions for Monitoring Coastal Habitats and Quantifying Blue Carbon Storage: An Integrated Approach for Sustainable Ecosystem Management. The geological impact in the historical- to recent carbon accumulation. Interreg VI - B IPA Adriatic Ionian Cooperation Programme.
ORCHID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1845-3561
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spyros-bellas-9175b082/
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/Spyridon Bellas