The Revithousa LNG terminal in Greece will play a significant role. Credit: Ministry of Energy

The European Union’s firm commitment to end all Russian natural gas imports by 2028 has put Greek energy companies on a direct course to secure new supply lines.

Major firms, including DEPA and Metlen (which hold long-term contracts with Gazprom), are already moving to sign agreements for the purchase of American Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) starting in 2028.

The challenge and the opportunity for Greece in the LNG route

Within the next two years, Greece is mandated to replace approximately 45% of its total natural gas imports currently sourced from Russia, a quantity corresponding to around 3.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year. This transition poses a significant challenge but also opens up vast opportunities related to regional energy security and export potential.

The complete phase-out of Russian gas is expected to create a supply deficit of approximately 16 bcm in the wider Central and Eastern European region.

The United States, as the world’s leading LNG exporter, views Greece and its rapidly expanding infrastructure as a critical conduit for transporting American LNG northward—along the axis from Bulgaria to Ukraine, and west to Hungary and Austria. This positions Greece as a crucial LNG transport hub for the entire region.

U.S.: Greece to contribute to energy security for Eastern Europe

“There are so many opportunities for participation by Greek companies and by the country of Greece to contribute to energy security for Eastern Europe,” said U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in a recent visit to Athens.

“I visited an LNG import facility in Greece. They had offloaded 31 LNG ships from America, they would like to take more,” said Burgum.

“The North–South corridor idea that would come from there, their participation in the ‘3+1,’ there are more resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, all kinds of opportunities to break the dependence that Eastern Europe has had on Russia,” he added.

The North–South axis refers to the Vertical Gas Corridor, a strategic project set for completion by late 2026, expanding existing infrastructure to channel natural gas from Greece’s Revithoussa and Alexandroupoli terminals through Bulgaria and Romania, and onward to Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, and Ukraine.

The ‘3+1’ framework describes the cooperation between Greece, Israel, Cyprus, and the United States on energy initiatives in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Greek LNG terminals and the U.S. relationship

Greece’s strategic importance is built on its existing and planned Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals, which serve as the entry point for U.S. LNG into Southeast Europe. The relationship between Greece and the U.S. in the energy sector has significantly deepened since 2022, with the U.S. becoming Greece’s dominant LNG supplier.

Greece currently operates one major onshore terminal and is rapidly developing Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRUs):

Revithousa LNG Terminal: Located on the islet of Revithousa near Athens, this is Greece’s only operational onshore terminal. It has undergone multiple upgrades to increase storage and regasification capacity, regularly receiving cargoes of U.S. LNG.

Alexandroupolis FSRU (Under construction/operational): Located in Northern Greece, this FSRU is particularly strategic as it links directly into the Vertical Gas Corridor, allowing gas to flow north to Bulgaria, Romania, and other Central European countries.

Other Planned Projects: Further projects near Volos and a second FSRU near Alexandroupolis (Thrace INGS) are planned, which would collectively more than double the country’s LNG handling capacity within the next few years.