Athens, September 11 (Patrika English News): The United States has indicated its intention to deepen energy cooperation with Greece as part of a broader strategy to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy.
During his visit to Athens on Thursday, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Washington aims to ensure that its allies have reliable energy supplies without relying on adversaries. “America’s goal is to provide energy to our friends and allies so that they do not need to buy from our opponents. The U.S. is fully committed to replacing Russian gas with American gas,” he said after meeting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
The development comes a day after Greece announced that a consortium, including Chevron, has submitted bids for natural gas exploration in its maritime zones.
Burgum also toured the Revithousa LNG terminal, which regularly receives U.S. gas shipments. Greece increased LNG imports from the U.S. by 95% in the first half of this year, reflecting its growing reliance on American supplies.
The European Union has already cut 90% of Russian crude oil imports by banning seaborne deliveries, though Hungary and Slovakia continue to import via pipelines. Before the Ukraine war in 2022, Europe sourced about 45% of its gas from Russia, a figure that has now dropped to around 13%.
Meanwhile, Greece views U.S. interest in offshore exploration south of Crete as a recognition of its sovereignty. Prime Minister Mitsotakis noted, “Your visit comes at a time when Chevron has shown interest in exploration south of Crete, which reaffirms our sovereign rights.”
