The international tender for natural gas exploration in areas south of Crete and the prospect of creating the so-called “Vertical Corridor” puts Greece once again at the center of Europe’s energy policy, as well as that of the United States, positioning it on track to become a regional energy hub.
The tender officially began with publication in the Official Journal of the European Union on June 12 and closes today, September 10. Everything “points” to American giant Chevron, but no one knows exactly who has submitted final bids and with what content. In any case, completion of the entire process is expected within 2025, with the contractor to be selected and negotiations for exploitation contracts to begin.
At the same time, US Secretary of the Interior and energy “czar” Doug Bergum arrives tomorrow, Thursday, in our country, with the dual capacity of minister and head of the National Energy Sovereignty Council. Yesterday, Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou was at the “Gastech Forum” in Milan and participated in a closed roundtable discussion with Doug Bergum, European Commission Director-General for Energy Ditte Juul Jørgensen, and representatives of the international energy industry, where he highlighted how Greece transformed from a natural gas importing country in 2020 to a natural gas exporting country in 2024. Specifically, he said that “the Vertical Corridor will substantially help both Europe and the US in the common goal of disconnecting from Russian natural gas and achieving energy autonomy.” Moreover, he said that “in this effort, 81% of Greece’s LNG imports for the first half of 2025 came from the US”.
US interest in further utilizing Greece as gateway for American natural gas into European energy market
Washington shows great interest in further utilizing our country as a gateway for American natural gas into the European energy market, and this is expected to be one of the main issues that will occupy Mr. Bergum in Athens. It is particularly characteristic that the next US ambassador to Athens, Kimberly Guilfoyle, emphasized this aspect when she went through the Foreign Affairs Committee hearing process in the Senate this summer. “The United States and Greece have made tremendous progress in energy cooperation. Greece’s Revithoussa LNG terminal and the construction of the floating regasification and storage unit in Alexandroupoli allow the US to export more natural gas to Europe,” she characteristically stated before senators, attributing special importance to the fact that “there are tremendous opportunities for selling more American energy to Greece and its neighbors.”
Natural gas from the US not only now has a main gateway into Europe through our country, but can potentially reach from Alexandroupoli all the way to Odessa. This will happen if the ambitious natural gas transport project from Greece to Bulgaria and subsequently Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Ukraine is finally implemented, with high geostrategic value for our country, beyond the energy aspect. “If confirmed (as US ambassador to Athens), I will work with Greece on the commercial development of investments in key natural gas pipelines, such as the so-called ‘Vertical Corridor’ connecting Greece with Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine and Central Europe,” Ms. Guilfoyle stated during her hearing.
From Rome and the Conference on Ukraine’s Reconstruction, Kyriakos Mitsotakis had emphasized in mid-summer that “together with our partners in the region, we are already contributing to promoting Ukraine’s energy security through the vital Vertical Corridor, a critical infrastructure project with significant prospects,” showing the importance that the Greek government attributes to this project, which interests the US both energetically and geostrategically.
In fact, at the end of September, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Kyriakos Mitsotakis plans to sit at the same table with his counterparts from Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine and discuss the Alexandroupoli-Odessa rail and road axis, which will run parallel to the Vertical Corridor.
