Greece’s PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said that exploration drilling for gas in the Ionian Sea will begin within eighteen months.
In an interview on public television ERT, the Prime Minister emphasized that recent agreements, coupled with the significant presence of US officials in Greece, fundamentally upgrade the country’s geopolitical and energy status. He stressed that Greece is transforming from simply being the end-point of an energy network into a central hub for natural gas transport to Northern Europe.
Key points from Mitsotakis’ interview on energy and drilling
Greece is becoming an essential provider of energy security for Balkan countries and Ukraine. Mitsotakis noted that this role yields significant benefits in the complex geopolitical landscape today.
While agreements regarding the northern gas corridor are important, he highlighted another development as potentially even more crucial: the decision by ExxonMobil, in partnership with two Greek companies, to proceed with the first exploratory natural gas drilling in Greece in the last forty years. “We do not know if this drilling will yield results,” he stated, “but the fact that it is moving forward suggests there is a significant potential reservoir.”
On the economic impact, he said: “If it is positive, you understand that the economic benefits for our country will be enormous. Because instead of importing natural gas for our own needs, we will be able to cover them ourselves and export the natural gas that we possess,” he explained. In closing, the Prime Minister insisted that Greece has an obligation to, at the very least, investigate whether it has exploitable natural gas reserves.
