The University of Nicosia School of Law and IENE joined forces and co-organized a highly successful Conference on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, titled “Eastern Mediterranean Energy Resources and Their Development: Challenges and Prospects”, which took place at the Athens campus of UNIC. The Conference attracted senior energy executives and academics as speakers and was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment and Energy.
The event was addressed by the Minister of Environment and Energy of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Stavros N. Papastavrou, the former Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. George Papanastasiou, the Professor and Director of the School of Law at UNIC Athens, Ms. Irini Stamatoudi, and, on behalf of the Institute of Energy for SE Europe, the Chairman and Executive Director, Mr. Costis Stambolis.
The legal dimension of the concessions for offshore blocks for hydrocarbon exploration and subsea energy interconnections was the theme of the keynote address by Mr. Angelos Syrigos, Professor of International Law and Foreign Policy at the Department of International and European Studies at Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences in Athens and an MP with the New Democracy (ND) Party. Another keynote speaker in this opening session was the Chairman of IENE, Costis Stambolis, who focused on the “Geopolitical aspects of energy in the Eastern Mediterranean”.
Also, during the session on hydrocarbon exploration, a presentation was contributed by IENE Partner, Mr. Yannis Grigoriou, Mining Engineer - MSc Geophysicist, Vice-President of the Continental Europe Energy Council, and former CEO of HELPE Upstream, Greece, which focused on hydrocarbon resources in the SE Mediterranean as a pillar of perspective for energy self-sufficiency, security of supply and prosperity for the EU. The proceedings of this session were chaired by IENE Visiting Research Fellow, Dr. Charles Ellinas, Energy Expert, Geopolitical Analyst, Senior Visiting Councillor at the Atlantic Council and CEO of eCNHC.
Mr. Nikos Sofianos, Chairman of IENE’s RES Committee and Secretary General of the Institute, chaired the third session, which covered RES and electricity, while, the fourth session, on the topic of "Eastern Mediterranean and Europe - Energy Corridors", was moderated by Mr. Christos Dimas, Chairman of the Institute’s Geopolitics Committee, Civil Engineer, National Technical University of Athens, Energy Consultant and Honorary President of the Hellenic-Russian Chamber of Commerce. In the above session, the keynote speaker was the former Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. George Papanastasiou, as well as former senior executive of the VTTI and BP multinational companies. Mr. Papanastasiou spoke about Cyprus’ path in monetizing the hydrocarbon reserves already found in Cyprus’ EEZ. The speakers of the session also included the Member of the Geopolitics Committee of IENE, Mr. Philippos Markos Spanidis, PhD, MSc, Meng, Project Manager, Oil & Gas Systems, ASPROFOS Engineering S.A.
Overall, the speakers of the Conference included top executives from the energy sector, academics in the fields of international law, geopolitics and energy infrastructures as well as market specialists. The active participation of IENE in the organization and realization of this timely Conference, which was convened by the University of Nicosia, which is fast becoming one of the most dynamic private universities in Greece, is an indication of the general recognition of the educational and advisory role of the Institute in the energy affairs of both Greece and Cyprus.
