Greece this week hailed the preliminary results of an oil and gas survey in the Ionian Sea showing similarities to earlier finds in Italian and Albanian waters.

Greek Energy Minister Yiannis Maniatis, speaking Wednesday at a petroleum industry conference in Athens, said the first conclusions of a seismic survey carried out in the Ionian and south of Crete by the Norwegian company Petroleum Geo-Services were promising.

Maniatis said the initial findings revealed geological analogies between the underwater area of the North Ionian and Italian and Albanian regions of the sea where oil and natural gas have already been found, the Greek daily To Vima reported.

In the findings, PGS reported "a diversity of geological characteristics of the Greek subsoil and a corresponding number of potential petroleum resources" -- potentially good news for the cash-strapped country, which is seeking to improve its financial situation by ramping up its oil and natural gas production.

Greece says it believes it has at least $600 billion of gas and oil reserves, while the U.S. Geological Society has estimated the Ionian Sea holds 22 billion barrels of oil off western Greece.

The report notes that the 1981 discovery of the Katakolon oilfield in the Ionian is evidence of the presence of a system of hydrocarbons off the western Peloponnese region, while the area south of Crete remains unexplored.

PGS was chosen last year to undertake the seismic surveys after it performed similar work off the coast of Cyprus that led to the tapping of the first hydrocarbon reserves in the island's exclusive economic zone.

A research vessel collected data for three months in an 86-square-mile zone stretching from the northern Ionian Sea to 125 miles south of Crete. Since then, it has been evaluating the data.

The first round of concessions in the area are slated to be tendered in mid-2014, and if there are takers, drilling could start the same year.

Maniatis said the government has already started the process of opening the doors for three plots, while negotiations with short-listed companies are in the final stages. The exploration rights to exploit hydrocarbons there are expected to be ratified in the coming weeks by the Greek Parliament, broadcaster ANT1 reported.

The findings were revealed at the American Association of Petroleum Geologists conference in Athens, which drew a roster of oil majors, including E.ON, Chevron, Eni, Exxon Mobil, Gazprom, OMV, RWE, Shell, Petronas, as well as foreign diplomats.

Maniatis used the occasion to declare Greece had "entered the map of global energy" and to assure the industry players the country is stable and eager to work with them to develop its resources.

He stressed its energy institutional framework is in line with EU regulations and oil industry standards, and asserted Greece's corporate tax "can only be reduced and not increased," To Vima reported.

"Greece is an extremely attractive place to invest in a sustainable and contemporary context and invites companies to invest while respecting the environment," he said.