Greece Secures Long-Term U.S. LNG Supply to Replace Russian Gas Imports

Greece signed its first 20-year LNG supply agreement with U.S. producer Venture Global, marking a major step in Europe’s plan to replace Russian gas imports by 2027. The deal positions Greece as a key regional hub for American LNG entering Europe.

(Reuters) — Greece has signed a deal to import 0.7 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas per year starting in 2030, its first long-term gas supply deal with the United States, which seeks to replace Russian gas inflows into Europe.

The 20-year deal comes months after the Trump administration and the European Union signed a trade deal in July, with Europe pledging to buy $250 billion in U.S. energy - oil, LNG and nuclear technology - annually for the next three years as it seeks to phase out Russian gas from 2027.

The supply will come under an agreement by Greece's biggest gas utility DEPA, energy company Aktor and U.S.-based Venture Global. Venture Global is building an export facility in Louisiana, its senior vice president Shaylyn Hynes told Reuters.

U.S. officials hailed the deal on Nov. 7 at an energy conference in Athens in which Washington said it wants to replace every molecule of Russian gas coming into Western Europe in the coming years.

"Greece had been at the end of a pipeline of as Russia-dominated energy supply system. Today, Greece becomes a launch point, the entry into Europe for American energy trade," U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told a press conference in Athens.

Greece has ramped up U.S. LNG imports since 2020, expanded gas infrastructure and backed a gas transportation scheme via a now underused gas pipeline to carry imported gas from its LNG terminals to Ukraine through Bulgaria and Romania as it seeks to bolster its role as a transit route into Europe.

Wright promised to keep Ukraine supplied this year.