Greece will be at the center of the global energy chessboard today, as the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation (P-TEC) begins this morning at the Zappeion, an international forum established on the initiative of former US Energy Secretary Rick Perry.
Four US ministers, 25 EU member state energy ministers, and 300 representatives from major companies across Europe, America, and Australia will gather in Greece today and tomorrow to discuss the need for independence from Russian natural gas and our country’s potential to serve as an energy hub, enabling American natural gas – and more – to enter Europe smoothly. Kyriakos Mitsotakis will speak tomorrow morning at 09:00, analyzing how our country can substantially contribute to the European Union’s energy security and be a stable strategic partner of the US in the energy sector.
The goal of P-TEC
P-TEC aims to strengthen energy interconnectivity, security, and cooperation between Central and Eastern European countries and the United States. This American initiative focuses on shared energy infrastructure (electricity networks, pipelines, transportation), with the goal of creating a sustainable, resilient, and collaborative energy market that will deliver economic, environmental, and social benefits.
Guilfoyle: Over 80 US government officials in Greece
The forum brings to Athens – as Kimberly Guilfoyle revealed yesterday – more than 80 United States government officials “and this is a record for Greece and for the US,” said the new US ambassador to Greece. Undoubtedly the two most important among them are Doug Bergum, Secretary of the Interior and head of the US National Energy Dominance Council, and Chris Wright, Energy Secretary of the Trump administration.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis met yesterday afternoon at the Maximos Mansion with the two ministers, as well as Deputy Secretary of State Michael Rega and Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Helberg, and referred to Greece’s critical role in utilizing and developing the Vertical Corridor, as well as the infrastructure it has developed, such as the LNG terminals in Revithoussa and Alexandroupolis, which transform it into a hub for liquefied natural gas transportation and an energy gateway reaching Moldova and Ukraine.
Mitsotakis: “Greece is the gateway for liquefied natural gas for the entire region”
The prime minister emphasized the strategic importance of Greek shipping for LNG transportation, while characterizing the simultaneous presence of ExxonMobil and Chevron in Greece as an American vote of confidence. Earlier, in fact, in the meeting with Mrs. Guilfoyle, he had stated that “Greece is the gateway for liquefied natural gas for the entire region”.
“Greece is at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, making it a crucial ally in promoting energy security for the United States and Eastern Europe. Through continuous development of its energy infrastructure —including an increasingly expanding network of liquefied natural gas facilities and regional pipelines— Greece is emerging as a pivotal center for strengthening energy resilience and reducing dependence on adversarial sources, as demonstrated by the European Union’s decisive move to end Russian natural gas imports,” Doug Bergum had emphasized in his exclusive statement to parapolitika.gr before departing from Washington for Athens.
Greece as an energy hub
The choice of Athens for the P-TEC meeting, the simultaneous presence of two ministers and two deputy ministers from the Trump administration, and the statements by Bergum and Wright demonstrate the US strategic choice to invest in Greece as a future energy hub for the broader region. Recently, the energy ministers of EU member states approved the new REPowerEU regulation, which provides for the gradual prohibition of all Russian natural gas imports (via pipelines and ships) by January 1, 2028. From then on, Europe’s natural gas market will be definitively closed to Russia, opening new opportunities for the US, which wants to utilize our country as a key entry point for American natural gas into the European market.
The agenda to be discussed at P-TEC
Today, during the first day of P-TEC, participating ministers, institutional representatives, international organizations, and executives from leading energy sector companies from America, Europe, and Greece will discuss new energy trends and the formation of conditions for a secure, sustainable, and competitive energy market. The proceedings open with speeches by Papastavrou and Wright, while it’s worth noting that among the thematic units to be discussed in panels include: the role of natural gas in Europe’s new energy geography, the vertical natural gas corridor, attracting capital for energy infrastructure investments, energy’s contribution to artificial intelligence development, strengthening energy system resilience, and emerging technologies. Of particular importance is the panel dedicated to Greece, where Papastavrou will present achievements as well as long-term and medium-term planning in the energy sector.
