Theodoros Tsakiris

On February 18th the floating storage regasification unit in Alexandroupoli received its first test shipment of US liquefied natural gas. In other energy news, it looks like decision time has come for hydrocarbon surveys off Crete.

Cyprus is making a new push to cement energy ties with Israel, and there have been recent reports about a pipeline that would link Israel with Cyprus where gas will be liquefied and exported abroad to Europe.

It's now been a few weeks since China brokered an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to normalize relations. The deal, and China's role in it, shocked many countries in the region, including the US, and is already having a ripple effect across the Middle East.

The recent announcement of a long-term energy agreement between Turkey and Bulgaria giving the latter access for 13 years to Turkish regasification terminals, came as a surprise to some and caused consternation in Athens.

Two months ago Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the offices of the Hellenic Hydrocarbon Management Company and officially announced the government's strategic plan to speed up the processes of exploitation of natural gas deposits.

A host of energy projects, such as TAP, IGB, Turkish Stream and others are under way or in the preparation phase in the Balkans and Black Sea region, and Greece must make the most of them to upgrade its status to energy hub, notes Dr Theodoros Tsakiris, assistant professor of energy policy and geopolitics at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus.