The US Executive Director of the National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC) Jarrod Agen congratulated Greece on two energy agreements during the Munich Security Conference, the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA) reports.
Greece has joined the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation (P-TEC) meeting in Athens and is also part of the Vertical Corridor, planned for the transportation of natural gas from Ukraine as part of the American agenda for energy dominance. P-TEC is the flagship platform for energy ministers and delegations from Central and Eastern Europe. They will work cooperatively with the US Department of Energy, other US agencies, and the private sector to address energy issues in the particular region of Europe.
Agen, deputy assistant to US President Donald Trump, described energy as a tool in achieving peace in Ukraine. The US official congratulated Greek Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou, who was in the audience, for the implementation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the arrival of imported gas to Greece. Referring to the P-TEC energy meeting in Greece, the NEDC chief in Munich said that US officials made two trips to Greece in 2025 and met with all energy ministers from East and Central Europe to discuss agreements on how to make natural gas transports from both Greece and Poland to Ukraine.
Vertical Corridor energy and Greece
According to Agen, the P-TEC conference at the end of the year proved insufficient. A meeting on the Vertical Corridor will be taking place in Washington on February 24, with all ministers traveling to the US for further talks and agreements to ultimately make the Vertical Corridor a reality. In addition, the subsequent meeting on the same issue will take place in Houston, at CERAWeek (the world’s premier energy conference, March 23-27), for additional negotiations.
Oleksiy Ryabchyn, former deputy and deputy energy minister of Ukraine and currently Naftogaz head of international relations, thanked speakers for substantial support to his country through the agreement with Greek consortium Aktor-DEPA. Naftogaz is Ukraine’s natural gas company. Ryabchyn has said Agen and his partners played a role in the single structural cohesion of the Vertical Corridor price list, allowing initial agreements with Greek counterparts and revealed that LNG tankers will also be assisting Ukrainians throughout the winter. The Vertical Corridor will transfer LNG to Ukraine through Alexandroupolis in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova.
The European Union has committed to ending imports of Russian natural gas in an effort to bring an end to reliance on Russian supplies. In May 2022, the REPowerEU plan was launched, aiming at saving energy, diversifying energy supplies, and producing clean energy. However, key regulatory and market issues surrounding alternative supply routes remain unresolved, limiting market participation in the Vertical Corridor. There is optimism that the regulatory framework will be clarified and regional conditions will stabilize.