Greece is aspiring to become an energy exporter and energy security provider, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has told members of the national Japanese business organization KEIDANREN during an official visit to Japan, the first by a Greek leader in 17 years.

Mitsotakis, heading a Greek delegation on a visit aiming to attract Japanese investments, told KEIDANREN members Greece has a significant role to play in Europe’s new energy structure now being developed.

This role is based on new infrastructure transforming the country into an energy hub, Greece’s prospective provision of energy security to the wider region, ongoing hydrocarbon exploration efforts, as well as investments for an increased RES-sector share of the country’s energy mix, the Greek leader noted.

“We are investing heavily in regasification facilities, especially in northern Greece. And we aspire to become an energy exporter and an energy security provider, at least for our Balkan neighbors,” the Prime Minister noted. “For the first time, we are actively exploring for potential natural gas deposits southwest of Crete. The exploration is being led by ExxonMobil and the initial findings are very, very promising,” he added.

Greece is one of the world’s ten biggest RES electricity producers, Mitsotakis pointed out while commenting on the significant role the country has to play in the new RES landscape developing in Europe.

Japan possesses the world’s biggest fleet of LNG tankers, in terms of value, according to 2022 data provided by Vessels Value, an internationally recognized data platform for ship valuations.

Japan’s LNG fleet was worth 30.3 billion dollars last year, the world’s highest, followed by Greece, at 29.9 billion dollars and South Korea, at 17.1 billion euros, according to Vessels Value figures.