US, Europe hold energy talks in Athens as Greece seeks Ionian drilling
ATHENS
Energy ministers from the United States and European countries were holding talks on Nov. 6 in Greece, with U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil joining a Greek venture to explore and drill for gas in the Ionian Sea.
The deal was signed on the sidelines of a conference in Athens attended by four members of the U.S. cabinet, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright, in addition to energy ministers from over 20 countries and senior energy company executives.
It will enable ExxonMobil to hold a 60-percent stake in an existing venture of London-listed Energean and Greece's Helleniq Energy to explore in the Ionian Sea west of Corfu.
"We have exploration activity in the Eastern Mediterranean and we are expanding it to Greece," ExxonMobil vice-president for global exploration John Ardill said at the P-TEC Summit in Athens.
Last month, Greece picked fellow U.S. energy giant Chevron for hydrocarbon exploration in four marine areas in the Ionian Sea south of the Peloponnese, and south of Crete.
Greek Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou has said that the Chevron contract is to be approved by Greece's parliament by early 2026, with geophysical studies to commence within the year.
Greek ecology groups have noted that the areas earmarked for hydrocarbon exploration in the Ionian Sea are near a planned marine park.
In addition to its goal of becoming an EU energy hub, Greece was keen to invite U.S. commitment in the area to neutralize competing maritime claims by Libya, encouraged by Türkiye.
Libya angered Greece in 2019 by signing a maritime delimitation agreement with Türkiye, which Athens argues disregards the rights of Greek islands, including Crete.
Minister also held talks on how to use a newly upgraded regional pipeline network to better supply war-torn Ukraine as the Trump administration seeks to further ramp up gas exports to Europe.
