ATHENS, Greece, Nov. 8 (UPI) — 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 […]