On September 10, 2025, HELLENiQ Energy announced that the American multinational energy company Chevron would join its tender for natural gas exploration rights in offshore deep-sea blocks off Greece’s Peloponnese peninsula and southern Crete. Not only does the joint bid reinforce the reality that the Eastern Mediterranean is becoming an even more critical corridor in Europe’s energy diversification strategy, but Chevron’s embrace reinforces Greece’s interpretation of international and maritime law, as Turkey and its regional allies try to upend both.
In the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine, the European Union rushed to find alternatives to dependence on Russian gas. Following ENI and Chevron’s discovery of gas off the coast of Egypt, there is renewed enthusiasm for major Greek gas potential.
Greece’s licensing of gas exploration blocks off southern Crete, and Chevron’s interest in partnering with HELLENiQ, present an opportunity for the region’s legal and commercial integration in the strategic triangle of cooperation among Cyprus, Israel, and Greece, with Egypt as a key regional player. The success of their energy ties depends on legal certainty and mutual recognition of maritime rights.
Greece has used the UNCLOS framework to assert its maritime entitlements and invite foreign investment into its offshore resources.
The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) defines Exclusive Economic Zones as areas in which coastal states may claim sovereign rights over natural resources along their continental shelf, within 200 nautical miles from their shores. Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt are all signatories to UNCLOS, and though Israel is not a signatory, it acknowledges that many provisions of the convention reflect customary international law, which it respects even without being a party to the treaty.
As such, Israel has entered into agreements, notably with Cyprus in 2010, “Recognizing the importance of delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone for the purpose of development in both countries.” That bilateral agreement, motivated by discovery of significant natural gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean, made regional gas field development possible.
Greece has used the UNCLOS framework to assert its maritime entitlements and invite foreign investment into its offshore resources. In 2020, Greece signed Exclusive Economic Zone agreements with both Egypt and Italy, reinforcing its commitment to delimitation based on UNCLOS principles. These agreements form the legal basis for licensing blocs like those off the coast of Crete, which lie within the area jointly defined by Greece and Egypt.
Chevron’s looming participation off southern Crete suggests that international energy firms see Greek-administered waters as a secure legal environment, particularly in comparison to other, more contentious maritime zones claimed by Turkey or its proxies in Libya. Greece’s legal position is more significant as a bridge between Europe and the Middle East as it facilitates the integration of Middle Eastern gas into European markets.
In the growing influence of the energy triangle, the strength of cooperation rests on legal alignment, not just shared interests.
In addition, Greece and Israel are in discussions regarding energy supply cooperation. Israel’s interest in European markets, particularly via the EastMed pipeline, depends on transit routes governed by internationally recognized law. Furthermore, because Israel does not have its own liquefied natural gas export infrastructure, it relies on other regional liquefied natural gas terminals such as Egypt and Greece. Egypt, with its large liquefied natural gas infrastructure, shares Greece’s UNCLOS-aligned legal approach to energy delivery and has Exclusive Economic Zone agreements with Cyprus as well.
In the growing influence of the energy triangle, the strength of cooperation rests on legal alignment, not just shared interests. It shows that the legal frameworks put in place by Athens function as intended: attracting investment while reinforcing Greece’s maritime claims. It also underscores the importance of legal interoperability. Chevron’s operations now span jurisdictions with different legal traditions but converging maritime laws. The ability to navigate this landscape depends on the predictability of Greece’s regulatory and legal environment, which stands in contrast to the ambiguity elsewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Should offshore Crete prove commercially viable, Chevron’s involvement could serve as a catalyst to the development of cross-border infrastructure, tying in Israeli gas fields, Cypriot reserves, and Egyptian liquified natural gas export capabilities—with Greece serving as the legal and geographic anchor. As regional maritime development expands, it will not only unlock new energy reserves, but also validate a model for legal and commercial integration in one of the world’s most contested maritime regions. The future of Eastern Mediterranean energy lies not just beneath the seabed, but in the strength of the legal foundations laid above it.
