Forbes: What Does Greece's Political Shake-Up Mean For Its Energy Aspirations?

For the last several years, Athens has sought out a way to take part in the Eastern Mediterranean’s energy explosion, built around offshore natural gas and a European Union desperate for alternatives to Russian imports. As countries like Cyprus, Israel and Lebanon have staked claims to offshore reserves, Greece has promoted their potential as both energy producer to an eager EU and transport hub regional discoveries.

A year ago, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras told a dinner organized by the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce that Greece could be home to 4.7 trillion cubic meters of gas could one day provide up to 25 percent of European demand. If they could manage to combine this with already active efforts by Cyprus and Israel, this amount could climb to 50 percent and not just for the short term, but for the next 30 years.

Nearly four months later, Athens moved on European uncertainty about Russian natural gas by promoting their possible role as a transport center for gas from Israel’s Leviathan offshore field to Europe. More than just rhetoric, the country’s Energy Ministry launched an international tender for a pipeline project that would transport about 8 billion cubic meters of gas into the European market from offshore fields controlled by Cyprus and Israel. In September, Samaras travelled to Azerbaijan to promote the country as a regional transport hub for gas from local fields.
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