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Greece to Speed up Gas Exploration to Help Replace Russian Gas, Says PM

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivers a speech during the inauguration of a solar power park , the largest project of renewable energy sources in Greece, at the village of Vilera, near Kozani, northern Greece, on April 6, 2022. (AFP)
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivers a speech during the inauguration of a solar power park , the largest project of renewable energy sources in Greece, at the village of Vilera, near Kozani, northern Greece, on April 6, 2022. (AFP)
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Greece to Speed up Gas Exploration to Help Replace Russian Gas, Says PM

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivers a speech during the inauguration of a solar power park , the largest project of renewable energy sources in Greece, at the village of Vilera, near Kozani, northern Greece, on April 6, 2022. (AFP)
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivers a speech during the inauguration of a solar power park , the largest project of renewable energy sources in Greece, at the village of Vilera, near Kozani, northern Greece, on April 6, 2022. (AFP)

Greece will speed up gas exploration projects in concert with private investors, its prime minister said on Tuesday, as it cuts its reliance on Russian energy and looks to become an energy hub in Europe.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine and fears over gas supply in Europe have exacerbated a jump in prices, forcing the European Union to seek ways to reduce its reliance on Russian gas by two-thirds this year and to end it completely by 2027.

Greece, which covers about 40% of its annual energy needs with Russian gas, has produced small quantities of oil in the past and has attempted to explore its hydrocarbon potential.

But low crude prices in previous years, a shift to green energy and lack of political will have stalled its exploration plans.

"Accelerating the exploitation of the country's national energy resources will allow us, if we are lucky and we have exploitable natural gas fields, to boost our energy independence, our energy security," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.

Mitsotakis, who met the country's hydrocarbons commission and energy industry executives on Tuesday, added that Greece aims to have a clear idea by 2023 on whether it has gas reserves it could tap, while indications of potential gas reserves so far made the government "optimistic".

This acceleration, he said, will not undermine the country's policy to ramp up renewables and cut carbon emissions by 55% by 2030 in line with EU's climate change targets.

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China Says Philippine Plan to Deploy Midrange Missiles Would Be 'Extremely Irresponsible'

A Chinese national flag flutters on a financial street in Beijing. (Reuters)
A Chinese national flag flutters on a financial street in Beijing. (Reuters)
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China Says Philippine Plan to Deploy Midrange Missiles Would Be 'Extremely Irresponsible'

A Chinese national flag flutters on a financial street in Beijing. (Reuters)
A Chinese national flag flutters on a financial street in Beijing. (Reuters)

China said a plan by the Philippines to deploy midrange missiles would be a provocative move that stokes regional tensions.
The Philippines top army official told reporters in Manila earlier on Monday that the military plans to acquire a midrange system to defend the country’s territory amid tensions with China in the South China Sea.
“Yes, there are plans, there are negotiations, because we see its feasibility and adaptability,” Lt. Gen. Roy Galido said.
The US deployed its Typhon midrange missile system in the northern Philippines in April and troops from both countries have been training jointly for the potential use of the heavy weaponry.
China opposes US military assistance to the Philippines and has been particularly alarmed by the deployment of the Typhon system. Under President Joe Biden, the US has strengthened an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to counter China, including in any confrontation over Taiwan.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that deployment of the weapon by the Philippines would intensify geopolitical confrontation and an arms race.
“It is an extremely irresponsible choice for the history and people of itself and the whole of Southeast Asia, as well as for the security of the region,” she told a daily briefing.
The Philippines would not necessarily buy the Typhon system, Galido said.
The army is working not only with the United States but with other friendly countries on a long list of weapons platforms that it plans to acquire, he said.
The Philippines defense plan includes protecting its exclusive economic zone, which reaches 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers).
“It is paramount for the army to be able to project its force up to that extent, in coordination, of course, with the Philippine navy and the Philippine air force," Galido said.