ATHENS, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Greece is working hard to

finalise a contract with U.S. oil major Chevron ( CVX ) and its

Greek partner Helleniq Energy for energy exploration

offshore Greece by the end of the year, the country's energy

minister said on Friday.

Chevron ( CVX ) and Greece's biggest oil refiner Helleniq submitted

a joint bid in a Greek tender this year to look for gas in four

deep-sea blocks off the Peloponnese peninsula and the island of

Crete.

"We are working intensively with the U.S. company and

Helleniq Energy to meet the timetables and conclude the contract

within 2025," Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou told Greek

television Action24.

Greece, which produces very small volumes of oil and relies

on hefty gas imports for power generation and domestic

consumption, has been keen to explore for gas and bolster its

role as a gas transit route as part of a European Union push to

move away from Russian energy after Moscow invaded Ukraine.

Once the contract with Chevron ( CVX ) is finalised, it needs

approval from a Greek court of auditors and the parliament

before the company can start seismic research in 2026 and it has

up to five years to locate potential recoverable deposits,

Papastavrou said.

Any eventual test drilling would not come before the

2030-2032 period, he added.