St. Papastavrou at CERAWeek: Greece, a beacon of stability in energy

The Minister of Environment and Energy, Stavros Papastavrou, spoke at CERAWeek about the changing energy map of Europe and the role of Greece.

According to Mr. Papastavrou, Greece aims to become a natural gas producer in the coming years and is a gateway for American LNG to southeastern Europe, acting as an energy hub.

The Minister stressed the need to reduce dependence on Russian natural gas and Greece's progress in Renewable Energy Sources, as well as the exploitation of the country's mineral wealth in cooperation with Chevron and ExxonMobil.

Mr. Papastavrou also referred to the Vertical Corridor and its connection with IMEC, the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor, as an axis of growth and stability.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Mr. Papastavrou highlighted Greece's energy transformation, with 55% of electricity coming from solar, wind and hydroelectric energy.

Regarding drilling, the Minister stated that Greece will have its first exploratory drilling by ExxonMobil in the Ionian Sea within the next 12 months, while agreements with Chevron and HelleniQ Energy for seismic surveys south of Crete are progressing.