The Minister of Environment and Energy, Stavros Papastavrou, in an interview he gave today on Fox Business and on the show “Mornings with Maria” with journalist Maria Bartiromo.
When asked about his meeting with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Mr. Papastavrou replied that “Greece is a strategic ally of the U.S. in the energy sector. It has emerged as a strategic pillar and a force for stability in the region and possesses the infrastructure and geographical location to enable American LNG to reach Southeast Europe, thereby allowing us to reduce our dependence on Russian natural gas. I think we all now understand what has been said for years in the U.S.: that energy security is national security.”
The Minister of Environment and Energy emphasized that energy diversification is essential for the region’s security and highlighted the importance of the Vertical Corridor. “In this regard, we have U.S. LNG arriving via Greece, through Revythousa and the FSRU terminal, and from there through Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova all the way to Ukraine, providing the energy diversification that is essential. At the same time, we are collaborating with ExxonMobil and Chevron to develop the hydrocarbons sector in Greece. We will carry out the first exploratory drilling in half a century, and we hope that our country will become a natural gas producer in the coming years,” he added.
When asked why, even today, as Russia continues to attack Ukraine, there are still EU member states purchasing energy from Moscow, Mr. Papastavrou noted that “I think it’s because Russia managed to offer very low prices, and many people confused the low price with security. When you don’t have a secure supply, then you don’t really have a low price. Security of supply is a decisive factor for the energy security of every country.” He also noted that the European Union has now decided to achieve complete independence from Russian natural gas by the end of 2027.
The Minister of Environment and Energy also added that, in addition to hydrocarbons, Greece must make use of all its domestic resources: “What does Greece have, besides being a beautiful country? It has wind, sun, hydroelectric potential, and, potentially, hydrocarbons. We must make use of all of them. We must also make use of our geographical location. And these must lead to more affordable prices for Greek households and the Greek economy.”
“We didn’t do this for 50 years, and that was a mistake. Now, we’re accelerating and moving quickly. As I said, with ExxonMobil, we hope that in February 2027—in less than a year—the first exploratory well will be drilled. And Chevron will conduct seismic surveys south of Crete by the end of the year. So we’re moving fast,” he explained.
“The Prime Minister and the government in Greece have completely changed the country’s economic history. Congratulations,” the Fox Business reporter concluded, with Mr. Papastavrou responding: “Ten years ago, Greece was on the brink of bankruptcy. Today, it is growing faster than other European countries. Unemployment has fallen from 18% to below 8%. Kyriakos Mitsotakis has cut more than 80 taxes,” he concluded emphatically.