Free exchange | Greece's debt crisis

The A-Team, Greece and mud volcanoes

By A.P. | LONDON

The climax of every episode of “The A-Team” followed an unchanging formula. Our heroes are trapped in a building with no chance of escape. Things look bleak until they discover an oxyacetylene torch, some sheets of metal, a screwdriver and a car engine. They build a vehicle and ram their way to freedom.

There was a mild A-Team echo at an Economist conference I co-chaired in Greece last week. Session after session considered the problems facing the Greek economy. Government ministers gamely listed their achievements to date and batted aside suggestions of restructuring. But the immensity of the task still ahead loomed over the discussions.

And then, in the penultimate session of the event, a metaphorical blowtorch appeared. A group of geology professors took to the stage to give a series of lengthy andimpassioned presentations about Greece's untapped offshore oil reserves. Suddenly, the talk was of mineral wealth that would solve Greece's debt crisis at a stroke.

The presence of mud volcanoes in the Mediterranean, said one speaker, had signalled oil reserves for other countries. Greece has mud volcanoes, ergo Greece has oil. One slide teasingly showed potential revenues of €300 billion, against the country's outstanding debt of €340 billion. The speakers slammed the government for failing to pursue exploration. The audience applauded wildly. Given a choice between grinding structural reform and living like the Saudis, who could blame them?

The A-Team ending is missing, however. Disputes with Turkey muddy Greece's territorial claims. Your blogger is in no position to comment on the science, but the interest of foreign oil firms would be a far better indicator of accessible oil reserves than conference presentations. In an earlier session, Yiannis Maniatis, Greece's deputy minister of the environment, energy and climate change, told the audience not to believe claims that oil wealth could solve the country's sovereign-debt crisis. Or, as Mr T would put it, stop your jibber-jabber.

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