Chevron’s Entry Boosts Greece’s Geopolitical Standing

US vigor elephantine Chevron has partnered with HelleniQ Energy to taxable a associated bid for exploration rights successful 4 offshore blocks southbound of Crete and the Peloponnese, Greece’s vigor curate announced connected Wednesday. Athens views the improvement arsenic a important measurement toward strengthening its sovereignty and geopolitical relation successful contested waters.

The authorities opened the tender earlier this twelvemonth pursuing expressions of involvement from Chevron and HelleniQ successful deep-sea exploration. The bidding closed connected Wednesday afternoon.

“The Chevron–HelleniQ Energy consortium has officially entered the planetary contention for the 4 offshore blocks,” Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou said. “This marks a caller section successful harnessing our country’s underwater vigor wealth. With nationalist self-confidence, Greece is gathering coagulated foundations for vigor independency portion capitalizing connected its strategical presumption successful the Eastern Mediterranean.”

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis welcomed the move, calling it “the clearest impervious of however our authorities is upgrading Greece’s geopolitical role.” He besides revealed plans to conscionable connected Thursday with US Interior Secretary Doug Bergman to sermon Greece’s evolving strategical and vigor importance.

In a connection to Kathimerini, Chevron confirmed its information and underlined the region’s significance:

“Chevron has a beardown and increasing beingness successful the Eastern Mediterranean, a portion that is cardinal to our aboriginal and a strategical precedence for us.”

HelleniQ Energy added that its engagement strengthens its exploration and accumulation activities, describing Chevron’s introduction arsenic a “new state entry” for the company.

For Greece, the bid besides carries geopolitical weight, serving arsenic a antagonistic to Turkey’s maritime claims made nether a memorandum signed with Libya’s Tripoli-based government, which disputes Greek rights southbound of Crete.

Athens, inactive heavy babelike connected state imports, is anxious to boost home accumulation arsenic portion of the European Union’s wider strategy to trim reliance connected Russian vigor pursuing the warfare successful Ukraine. Major discoveries successful Egyptian waters person raised hopes that Greece’s offshore zones whitethorn clasp untapped reserves. The targeted country borders 2 blocks wherever ExxonMobil and partners person already conducted seismic surveys.