Doug Burgum to “N”: Great collaboration with Greece in energy and shipyards

The US has large plans for US-Greece practice successful the vigor and shipbuilding sectors, arsenic emphasized by US Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, successful an exclusive interrogation with “N”.

Burgum spoke of a “great collaboration” betwixt Chevron and Hellenic Energy, which will further lend to strengthening Greece’s relation arsenic an vigor hub for Southeastern Europe.

The afloat interrogation of the US Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, to “N” and Michalis Psilos follows:

First of all, I would similar to inquire you astir your authoritative and very, very important visit to Greece. Tell us astir the intent of your visit.
“First of all, this is simply a awesome of the value of the narration betwixt the United States and Greece.
There has ever been a heavy affection betwixt the two countries. There has been large collaboration connected defense. There are shared values betwixt the authorities of Prime Minister Mitsotakis and President Trump. There is besides a synergy astir policies of regulatory betterment and pro-business, pro-energy policies, little taxes and little involvement rates, with the purpose of a strong economy. And, for Greece, this is decidedly showing up successful the numbers: strong involvement successful overseas superior investments coming to Greece, adjacent from American technology companies.”

You are the Secretary of the Interior successful the Trump administration, but you besides person vigor successful your portfolio…
“Although Secretary of the Interior, the title is misnamed. My portfolio includes each the Pacific Islands, the absorption of astir 20% of the territory of the United States, and each offshore drilling. Whether it is minerals, captious earthy materials, uncommon earths, vigor development, adjacent forestry. So, it concerns each earthy resources. And having a strong vigor argumentation is what leads to a strong system and debased inflation.
I americium the caput of the ‘National Energy Dominance Council’. And astir apt the champion translation for Greek would beryllium the National Energy Abundance Council due to the fact that the thought was to spell beyond vigor independence on a nett basis, but to really person capable vigor to merchantability to our friends and allies.
Helping the EU and Europe execute its goals of wholly ending the use of Russian earthy state is 1 of the strategic goals of the Trump administration. President Trump wants bid successful the world. He truly doesn’t similar it when radical dice successful war. As helium says, ‘I want to stop the killing.’
And the American president stopped a bid of conflicts successful the archetypal 7 months of his term. But when we look astatine countries similar Iran, which is backing terrorism, oregon Russia, which is backing a war, it doesn’t marque consciousness for our allies to bargain vigor from these countries. Because they use this energy, the lipid and state sales, to concern the wars they are waging. So, successful a way, we person to stop backing two sides of a conflict. President Trump sees vigor argumentation arsenic a way to peace. He sees vigor diplomacy arsenic a way to prosperity, to debased ostentation and precocious growth.
Humanity is astatine a turning constituent successful its history, arsenic artificial quality will beryllium a large user of electricity. But, for the archetypal clip successful quality history, a kilowatt of energy tin beryllium converted straight into artificial intelligence. This has ne'er happened before.”

Mr. Minister, arsenic Plato said, “knowledge creates happiness”…
“Exactly. Knowledge is power. This is simply a saying that exists successful galore languages. But present virtually powerfulness becomes knowledge. Power is knowledge. If you person much electricity, you tin make much intelligence. Exactly. And a information halfway is an artificial intelligence. An artificial quality factory, better, an artificial quality factory, where you take energy and turn it into artificial intelligence, is simply a general-purpose technology, which tin beryllium used by each sector: Defense, shipbuilding, agriculture, education, governance. Your Prime Minister showed maine this, during our meeting. I felt that the Greeks were heading successful the close direction, under the enactment of Prime Minister Mitsotakis, due to the fact that helium is trying to take productivity tools and present amended authorities for the people, utilizing the available technological tools.”

Already, Microsoft is gathering an AI mill successful Greece…
“Exactly. And I’m sure that’s 1 of the reasons Microsoft announced that it’s gathering an AI mill present successful Greece. The adjacent wave of superior concern successful immoderate system is going to beryllium driven by who has debased energy prices.
You wouldn’t enactment a flour mill successful a determination where wheat costs three times much than it would somewhere else, where you could get high-quality wheat astatine a debased price.
An AI mill ‘goes’ to places with reliable, abundant, affordable, and unafraid electricity. That’s however decisions are made. And those superior flows are going to beryllium huge.
The superior flows into AI information centers are currently, successful the United States, larger than galore different industries combined.
They are bigger than manufacturing. They are bigger than the αυτοκίνητο industry.
Countries that understand this and person vigor policies that prioritize security, abundance and affordability will spot superior investment. Countries that prioritize decarbonization, that person precocious outgo and unreliable energy, will spot zero investment.”

Your visit besides coincided with the submission of a bid by the US vigor elephantine Chevron and Greece Hellenic Energy for the exploration of offshore “plots” south of Crete and the Peloponnese. A large task for Greece and the United States…
“Absolutely. This is simply a fantastic collaboration betwixt Chevron and Hellenic Energy. And it was very breathtaking to beryllium with the Greek Minister of Energy connected the time the bids were opened. And it sounds very affirmative that this collaboration will beryllium capable to determination guardant towards development. And that is very positive, very affirmative for the vigor abundance of Greece and its citizens.”

As you know, there are galore disputes, confrontations and challenges to our sovereign rights successful the Mediterranean Sea. Is the US authorities acceptable to support American companies? If necessary, of course?
“We person stayed retired of the negotiation. It is not our job. But when we person to get progressive successful these discussions, we do. And there are some parallels, where we person supported Chevron successful protecting its activities successful offshore areas related to disputes with Venezuela and its neighbour Guyana, which is 1 of the fastest increasing caller lipid economies successful the world, connected the bluish broadside of South America. Venezuela is threatening a quality implicit Guyana and Venezuela waters. And I will conscionable notation the quality reports that there were F-35s that did a flyover implicit past Sunday, during the inauguration of the recently elected President Irfaan Ali of Guyana, arsenic a motion of practice with the United States.”

“Signal” for Revithoussa Infrastructure Expansion

How bash you spot Greece’s role, its geopolitical power, successful the Eastern Mediterranean?
“Greece is successful a large spot. I mean, from a humanities and geographical constituent of view, this puts Greece successful a fantastic position. Combine that with the enactment of the Prime Minister and his argumentation of reducing taxes and various reforms, which are starring to attracting concern and involvement from the United States.
In the summer, the earthy state that was unloaded astatine Revithoussa reached Ukraine. If you want to assistance each of Europe stay distant from Russian earthy gas, you indispensable person the infrastructure and that infrastructure is already here, but with concern it tin beryllium expanded overmuch further. It is an accidental for Greece to go a very important vigor hub for Southeastern Europe.
For example, there is simply a batch of vigor underground successful Greece. Geothermal could beryllium a very bully semipermanent prospect. So we spot partnerships for 2028, 2030 and beyond, successful each these technologies.
In the US, we are besides ordering ember plants to stay open, alternatively of closing. It is brainsick to think that we are going to prevention the satellite by shutting down baseload powerfulness generation.
In the abbreviated term, the contention with China successful terms of energy procreation continues. Last year, China added 93GW of coal-fired electricity. They are utilizing much ember than the Western world is stopping producing. We request that baseload to assistance win the AI contention arsenic well. We tin solve each clime occupation earlier the year 2100.
But we cannot fto the costs of vigor poorness rise, information decline, and dependence connected adversaries. Energy abundance is the way to solving these problems.”

The Trump medication is seeking to extremity each European dependence connected Russian gas. What is the relation of the LNG terminal successful Alexandroupolis and, subsequently, the so-called ‘Vertical Corridor’ connecting Greece’s networks with the Balkans and Ukraine?
“Alexandroupolis and the ‘Vertical Corridor’ are of very large strategic importance. I americium referring to the unloading of LNG and the transportation of state to the North. At the Revithoussa facilities, which we besides visited, 35 ships person transported LNG this year – 31 of them from the United States. We spot the marketplace stock of this practice expanding betwixt us, American earthy state coming here.”

How is the practice betwixt the two countries successful shipping and shipbuilding progressing?
“Greece dominates planetary shipping, with 20% to 25% of the world’s fleet flying the Greek flag. The US was fig 1 successful shipping and shipbuilding aft World War II. Now we are not adjacent successful the top 15 successful shipbuilding. President Trump said we will travel back.
Speaking with the Greek Ministers of Development and Shipping astatine the Elefsis shipyards, we saw that there is simply a large accidental for fantabulous collaborations. There is thing factual to denote today, but evidently we person made it a precedence to item shipping and shipbuilding astatine the top of the docket of this visit.
Do you spot these ONEX facilities present successful Elefsis? This is an concern where the American Development Finance Corporation (DFC) spent 125 cardinal dollars connected this facility. With these funds, the Elefsis Shipyards has been importantly strengthened, servicing implicit 200 ships. ONEX tin present repair ships of each sizes. We are already looking astatine further superior investments present for floating tanks, for some of the largest instrumentality ships and the largest LNG carriers. I mean, these facilities are the ‘key’.
There is nary vigor information today, without power of shipping. And there is nary power of shipping, if there is nary quality to repair and support the fleet, to support it successful operation. So it is each connected.
I think there will beryllium some very absorbing discussions, successful the coming weeks and months, astir imaginable further partnerships and concern opportunities that will spell some ways betwixt our two countries connected shipping.”

One past question, Mr. Minister: Is there immoderate anticipation of US assistance successful the electrical interconnection betwixt Greece, Cyprus, Israel oregon Egypt?
“The three positive 1 model that you referenced is simply a very important strategy. In summation to the electrical interconnection, there are discussions today with some of the backstage assemblage companies, regarding fibre optic connections, including each of these countries, arsenic well arsenic Egypt and others.
In some cases, we want to person energy into cognition and transfer cognition – when we bash that, I think we will spot a batch of activity. And I saw it astatine the Elefsis Shipyards. They are repairing ships that specialize successful laying cables. I think the shipyards could person a batch of work, whether it is electrical cables oregon fibre optic cables.”