At the Prime Ministerial Mansion (Megaro Maximou) on 16th February, agreements were signed between the Greek State and a consortium of the US oil company Chevron and the HELLENiQ ENERGY group, granting it exclusive rights to hydrocarbon exploitation in four sea areas south of the Peloponnese and Crete. The agreements were signed by the Minister of the Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou, Chevron’s Vice-President for Global New Ventures Gavin Lewis, the CEO of HELLENiQ ENERGY Andreas Shiamishis, and the CEO of HEREMA* (Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company) Aristofanis Stefatos. The signing took place in the presence of the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and also present was the US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle.
In a meeting prior to the signing, statements welcoming the development and praising the government’s initiative were made by several of the main figures present. The following are transcripts of their statements, taken from a video of the occasion posted on the Prime Minister’s YouTube channel.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis
“Welcome, we meet here today to formally welcome Chevron to Greece. When we came into office back in 2019 we inherited a lacklustre exploration programme. The strategy was always there but it lacked real vigour, and very little was actually happening, and we changed that from day one. We moved to ratify agreements that had been signed in the past but had not really moved forward. We conducted a very extensive seismic survey – more seismics in a year than had been done in a decade – to better map the prospects we have.
A few months ago at P-TEC**, which was a big success as you remember Madame Ambassador, we announced that we would proceed with the first exploration well drilled in Greece in more than 40 years, and today we take a big step forward – actually I would say it’s probably more of a leap. The four blocks that Chevron and Helleniq Energy are entering are covering a massive area. When you look at our exploration programme today we have about 48,000 sq km and after this agreement we will have 94,000 sq km at the stroke of a pen. The area available for exploration in Greece will almost double.
So this is not just one more agreement, this is a major boost. And it is a critical component of our strategy. Greece very well understands the role that hydrocarbons play in our system, and will continue to play for years to come. This is why we have heavily invested in gas pipelines, in compression stations, in energy terminals, in gas-fired power plants. And this investment comes alongside other important strategic bets. We of course continue to heavily invest in renewables, to explore our solar and our wind resources which are significant. We used to be a net electricity importer and now we are a major electricity exporter.
At the same time the historic decision taken by the European Union to phase out Russian gas offers significant new opportunities for the country. Greece has ready infrastructure to help our neighbours access gas through new routes and we strongly believe in the Vertical Corridor as an alternative to Russian gas, and as Europe eliminates the supplies of Russian gas this corridor will only grow in significance, in geopolitic but also in economic importance.
We also want to produce our own gas. Europe needs it and we want to supply it, so we’re very very happy to welcome Chevron to Greece. You are a company with a very long history in hydrocarbons, you are a company that knows the Eastern Med quite well, and of course you are an American company and your entry into Greece is one more proof, Madame Ambassador, of the very strong strategic relationship between Greece and the United States, a relationship that is getting stronger by the day.
Exploration is uncertain, we all understand this. We won’t know for sure what is there until we try. But we do believe in this vision and we are delighted to have you both – both Chevron and Helleniq, our national champion, here as partners, so welcome and good luck.”
Stavros Papastavrou
“Thank you, Prime Minister. Today’s signing is a strategic milestone and we are optimistic that it has the potential to prove historic for Greece’s energy policy, energy security and therefore for Europe’s energy security.
Prime Minister, you have consistently advocated for energy realism in Europe – a principle we have actively pursued in Greece. We have invested in natural gas infrastructure, recognising the role that hydrocarbons play in our energy system and will continue to play in the years to come.
Today we inaugurate a new era of national confidence and resolve. For the first time we are exploring the potential natural resources south of Crete, positioning Greece as a prospective natural gas producer for the benefit of our country, our citizens and Europe. We would like to sincerely thank Chevron and Helleniq Energy not only for its trust and decision to invest in Greece, but also the institutional and professional manner in which it handled every stage of this process, from our very first call last March to our visit to your headquarters in early May with Nikos and Aris and up to today’s signing.
We remain fully committed to advancing this endeavour, fully aware of its importance. Greece is, and will remain a reliable partner. We move forward with responsibility and determination. Thank you.”
Kimberly Guilfoyle
“Thank you so much, and thank you Prime Minister for your stewardship, your leadership and being so committed to making sure that the bilateral relationship between the United States and Greece remains strong, vibrant and, as you said, increasing every day. It’s been a pleasure to work with Mr Papastavrou, who’s been an amazing partner, working in cooperation throughout P-TEC and working with Chevron and Helleniq, true partners, leaders in the industry.
Today is a most auspicious day for our countries, for the relationship that we have together, for what we are going to do in the future together. Under the leadership of President Trump we have made it a clear priority to back our strategic ally in this very important geopolitical region, and that is Greece, who has been steadfast and at every time exceeded the expectations. We pledge our commitment to you today, tomorrow and going forward for centuries to come.
So we look forward to this. This is extremely important, it’s historic and as the Prime Minister mentioned, in 40 years this hasn’t occurred and now we’re doubling it, which is exactly what we intended to do, and it’s wonderful to be at this table to celebrate this moment. And it’s a strong signal to the world that Greece is going to remain a dominant energy power in this region for centuries to come. Thank you.”
Gavin Lewis
“Mr Mitsotakis, it’s an honour and a privilege to be here at this auspicious occasion. Adding these four blocks in this agreement adds an exciting opportunity to our portfolio and is an exciting milestone for exploration in Greece.
I’d like to thank yourself, the minister and HEREMA and our partner Helleniq for all the help to get us to this point. This feels like the finishing line but it’s really the starting position, so we’re very excited. Thank you very much.”
Andreas Shiamishis
“First of all, welcome to Athens. Thank you very much for this opportunity, it’s a milestone for us as a company and as a country. As the Prime Minister said we are doubling the exploration acreage in Greece, which is a big thing for us, and it’s really a big day for us as well. I still recall back in 2020 when we met the first time at the HEREMA offices you said, “Well, what are we doing with upstream***, are we actually doing something, do we want to do something?” And here we are.
And when everyone is talking about energy crises and the need to develop energy security and reduce dependence on a number of sources, I think Greece and us as a company have been responsible to take the steps needed to develop it, because talking about it is not enough.
Helleniq Energy is a company who knows the local market very well, is very pleased and very proud to be partnering up with Chevron. They bring the international expertise, the know-how to develop in a very responsible way our opportunities here. Let’s hope that we have a lot more to celebrate in the coming years.”
Reactions to the contracts
At a presentation of the details of the agreements, held at the Acropolis Museum immediately after the signing, it was stated that if exploitable deposits are found production is expected to start during the period 2032-2035. The benefit to the State (apart from the intangible geostrategic benefit and improvement of the trade balance) will be around 40% of the revenues.
The news of the contracts was met with dismay by ecological groups. WWF Greece noted that the 90-odd thousand sq km area covered by the agreements constitutes 20% of the country’s total sea area. It described the move as “deeply contradictory and problematic”, as while professing support for clean energy and the institution of marine parks, at the same time the government is proceeding “with unprecedented persistence” with an extensive programme of extractions.
The Ecological Initiative of Chania repeated their warning about the effects of seismological testing on rare marine animals, and claimed that the explorations run counter to the EU’s policy of achieving carbon neutrality by the year 2050. However, as the government has repeatedly stated, it views natural gas as a transition fuel which will continue to be in demand for some time to come and it is clear that its policy of becoming an “energy hub” for the Eastern Mediterranean will override any ecological price to be paid.
There are also geopolitical considerations at play. The “Vertical Corridor” mentioned by the Prime Minister in his introduction refers to the proposed route from Alexandropouli via Bulgaria and Romania to Odessa in Ukraine, which will link the gas systems of these countries and Hungary, reducing their dependence on Russian gas. A key component in this diversification effort is the Trans-Balkan Pipeline, a legacy infrastructure system originally designed to transport Russian gas southward from Ukraine through the Balkans to Turkey, which today has been repurposed to operate in reverse flow—enabling gas to move northward from Greece into Central and Eastern Europe.
(usea.org)
The Turkish response
Turkey has been quick to respond to the news, with the Turkish Defence Ministry at its weekly briefing declaring the agreements to be in violation of the Turkish-Libyan Memorandum of 2019. The memorandum, which claims to create a zone of maritime jurisdiction between the two countries, is widely regarded as illegal, and has been declared void by the Greek government as it ignores the presence of the Greek islands of Crete, Kasos, Karpathos, Kastellorizo and Rhodes between the Turkish and Libyan coasts. The Defence Ministry’s announcement said that the activity, while not directly impacting Turkey’s continental shelf in the region, also violated Libya’s maritime jurisdiction declared to the United Nations on May 27, 2025. “We continue to provide the necessary support to the Libyan authorities to take action against these unilateral and unlawful activities by Greece,” it said.(Ekathimerini)
*Fully owned by the Greek State, HEREMA “licenses and manages the development of energy technologies deemed key for Greece’s transition to a robust and sustainable energy system including hydrocarbon exploration and production, carbon storage, underground gas storage, and offshore wind. … On top of its strategic role in Greece’s energy sector, HEREMA is the country’s transitional Competent Authority for Offshore Safety in Oil and Gas Operations; a role it was been successfully performing since July 2016.”
** The U.S. Department of Energy, the Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy and the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, with the support of the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, organised the Sixth Meeting of the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation (P-TEC) on November 6-7, 2025, at the Zappeion Megaron conference centre in Athens.
***“Upstream” in the oil and gas industry refers to the crucial stages of exploration and production, where companies identify oil and gas reserves and then extract these resources. This phase includes activities like land surveys, drilling operations, and the use of technology to locate hydrocarbons. The upstream sector is the first step before the midstream and downstream stages, which handle transportation, refining, and distribution. (https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/upstream.asp )