In the Libyan Sea, offshore southern Crete, there are two areas which may turn out to be of  big interest as far as hydrocarbon exploration is concerned. The first one is the Herodotus  Basin and the other is the Mediterranean Ridge. Evaluation of geological and geochemical data acquired since 1985 from scientists working in  the Libyan Sea indicate the possible existence of large hydrocarbon deposits in an area of  80,000 Km2, which is equivalent to the  Levantine Basin (combined EEZ of Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Southeast Cyprus).