Discussion on Hybrid Threats and Protection of Maritime Energy Infrastructure was organised by Polish Embassy at the Posidonia Shipping Exhibition -IENE Participation
A highly topical discussion on the hybrid threats and the protection of marine energy infrastructure was organised by the Polish Embassy in Athens on June 2 as a side event during the Posidonia Shipping Exhibition READ MORE

IENE Postpones 16th South East Europe Energy Dialogue for 2027
In view of mounting regional unrest as well as growing market uncertainty, IENE has decided to postpone for next year the “16th South East Europe Energy Dialogue” which was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 17 June 2026, in Sofia, Bulgaria READ MORE

Full Video and Presentations from 5th IENE “Energy and Shipping Seminar” Now Available
The material from IENE’s 5th IENE “Energy and Shipping Seminar”, which took place on April 29th, 2026, at the B & E Goulandris Foundation, in Athens, is now available through the event’s microsite. This includes all presentations, the full video, interviews form the Seminar’s participants, as well as photographs from the event, entitled “Energy Security, Energy Transition and the New Maritime Reality” READ MORE

The Role of Critical Minerals in Securing the Clean Energy Value Chain was Discussed in Financial Times/Kathimerini Summit -IENE participation
The importance of Critical Raw Materials( CRM’s) and their role in securing the clean energy value chain was discussed in a special panel as part of a two day Summit organised by the Financial Times and Kathimerini which was held in Athens on May 13/14. Participants in the panel included Dionysis Gkoutis, Director General,of the Hellenic Survey of Geology and Mineral Exploration ( HSGME), Costas Yazitzoglou, Chairman of the Greek Minining Enterprises Association( GMEA) and Costis Stambolis, Chairman and Executive Director of the IENE. Moderated by Kathimerini’s journalist Crysa Liangou the panel stressed that although CRM’s underpin every aspect of the clean-energy value chain from batteries to solar photovoltaic panels, their supply remains geopolitically exposed READ MORE

Secretary General of IENE Moderated High-Level Panel on Energy Storage at Balkan Battery Day in Athens
The Balkan Battery Day conference, organized by Invest In Network under the leadership and dedicated coordination of Inessa Shahnazarova, Founder and Executive Director of Invest In Network, was successfully held on Thursday, 21 May 2026 at the ZEUS Wyndham Grand Athens Hotel READ MORE

The Chairman of IENE Participated in East Med Gas Panel in “Flame 2026” in Amsterdam
This year’s “Flame” conference, which is considered Europe’s most established gas event for the industry, was held as usual at the Okura Hotel in Amsterdam on May 19-21. The IENE was there as both its Chairman, Costis Stambolis and Visiting Research Fellow Dr. Charles Ellinas, were present with active participation throughout the conference. READ MORE

New Research Note Analyzes the Logic of Economic Exhaustion in the US–Iran Conflict and the Role of the Strait of Hormuz
IENE’s latest Research Note focuses on the weaponization of the economic dimension of the belligerent nations in the ongoing war in the Middle East. IENE’s Research Note No. 6, on “The Strait of Hormuz and the Logic of Economic Exhaustion in the US–Iran Conflict”, is written by Commander Athanasios Drivas HN, Deputy Commander at the Hellenic Navy Naval War College and Prof. Vasileios Syros, National Maritime Foundation & Centre for National Security Studies of India READ MORE

Latest IENE Analysis Focuses on the EU and the Difficult to Explain Policy Inconsistency
Despite the ongoing energy crisis and growing concerns over supply security, the European Union has maintained a cautious stance toward altering its policy on financing oil and natural gas projects. While some argue that increased investment in fossil fuel infrastructure is necessary to ensure short-term energy stability, the EU continues to prioritize its long-term climate commitments, including decarbonization and the transition to renewable energy sources. This policy position reflects the tension between responding to immediate energy demands and upholding strategic environmental goals READ MORE

IENE’s New SE Europe Energy Outlook 2025/2026: Mapping the Region’s Energy Future
The new IENE SE Europe Energy Outlook 2025/2026 constitutes the most comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the energy sector in South East Europe and the East Mediterranean, covering developments and projections up to 2050. Produced by a 27-member team of experts over an 18-month period, the study examines the rapidly evolving energy landscape across 16 core countries and several neighbouring states, at a time when energy security, affordability, technological transformation and geopolitical uncertainty are reshaping regional priorities READ MORE

Latest IENE Briefing Note Focuses on the Impact of Middle East War on Fuel Prices
The current war in the Middle East has once again highlighted the region’s central role in the global energy system and its influence on fuel prices. As a major hub for oil production and export, any escalation in conflict raises immediate concerns about supply stability. Even when physical disruptions are limited, uncertainty alone can unsettle markets, prompting precautionary behavior among producers, traders, and governments READ MORE

Paper Authored by IENE Researchers Just Published in “Energy Foresight” Journal
A recent IENE article, published in Energy Foresight, a Science Direct- Elsevier Journal, highlights the growing importance of natural gas in meeting the energy needs of SE Europe. According to the article, natural gas already accounts for approximately 25% of the region’s energy demand and is expected to play an even greater role in the coming decades. In addition, it examines developments across the Western Balkans, EU member states in SE Europe and Turkiye, emphasizing the strategic importance of energy diversification and regional cooperation READ MORE

Romania: President Dan Announces Nuclear Partnership with World Bank
The head of state also said that he had discussed with the US Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, the common priorities for cooperation in the nuclear and liquefied natural gas sectors. A future partnership with the World Bank for investments in the nuclear energy sector has been announced by the Romanian President READ MORE

Reuters: Syria Relies on Russia's Oil Despite Pivot to the West
Russia has emerged as the main supplier of oil to Syria, Reuters reporting shows, despite the new government's alignment with the West and widespread distrust of Moscow over its military support for fallen leader Bashar al-Assad READ MORE

OPEC+ Agrees Third Oil Output Quota Hike Since Hormuz Closure
OPEC+ agreed on Sunday a modest oil output hike for June, an increase that will remain largely on paper as long as the Iran war continues to disrupt Gulf oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz READ MORE

Pipeline Work Starts on Romania's Biggest Black Sea Offshore Gas Project
Work has begun to lay pipelines for Romania's Neptun Deep Black Sea gas project, one of the European Union's most significant energy deposits with an estimated 100 billion cubic meters of recoverable gas.

Once it starts producing gas in 2027, Neptun Deep will double Romania's gas production and likely turn it into a net exporter at a time when the EU is weaning itself off Russian gas READ MORE

Turkmen Gas is Back on Turkey’s Agenda
Turkey has lost its imports of Iranian natural gas and is again looking to Turkmenistan to cover the gap. But Ashgabat appears to be prioritizing exports to China. The ongoing turmoil in the Persian Gulf has sent global gas prices soaring, a development that inevitably has led to a sudden resurgence of interest in Turkmenistan’s large natural gas reserves READ MORE

Trump Says US to Pause Operation to Guide Vessels Through Strait of Hormuz
The US operation to guide stranded vessels through the Strait of Hormuz will be paused for a "short period of time", President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday evening. Trump said that "Project Freedom", which began days earlier, would be halted by "mutual agreement" because "great progress" had been made toward a deal with Iran READ MORE

Oil Prices Slide on Reports US and Iran Are Nearing Peace Agreement
Oil prices fell sharply to two-week lows on Wednesday as optimism grew about a possible end to the war in the Middle East, with reports the United ?States and Iran were nearing an initial peace deal READ MORE

Albania Benefits from Renewable Energy: Exports to Kosovo and Europe on the Rise
The first three months of the year marked a significant increase in energy, with production from hydropower plants being 70 percent higher in January-March 2026 compared to the same period a year earlier READ MORE

US and Iran Explore Short-Term Deal to End Fighting
The United States and Iran are edging toward a temporary agreement to halt ?their war, sources and officials said on Thursday, with Tehran reviewing a proposal that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues unresolved READ MORE

Serbia's President Dismisses Bid by Local Company to Buy NIS Oil Firm
Serbia will not allow a recently formed local company to purchase a majority stake in its Russian-owned NIS oil firm because it lacks expertise, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday. A company called KFT Senator Treasury G.T.7 Two LLC (Senator) - founded just last August and run by a local businessman, Ranko Mimovic - said on Wednesday that it offered to purchase a 51.16% stake in NIS from Russia's Gazprom Neft and Gazprom for 2 billion euros ($2.35 billion) READ MORE

US, Iran No Closer to Ending War as Gulf Clashes Flare
The U.S. and Iran appeared no closer on Saturday to finding an end to their war after the two sides traded fire in the Gulf amid a tenuous ceasefire, while a U.S. intelligence analysis concluded Tehran could withstand a naval blockade for months READ MORE

Croatia's INA, Hungary's MOL in Talks to Resume Operations in Syria
Croatian oil and gas company INA and its largest shareholder, Hungarian energy company MOL, have concluded a series of talks with the Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC) on exploring options for the re-activation of INA’s oil and gas operations in Syria, MOL said on Friday. INA suspended operations in the Arab country 14 years ago due to the political turmoil there READ MORE

Hellenic Hydrogen Wins European Hydrogen Bank Grant with Lowest Bid
The third auction of the European Hydrogen Bank (EHB) resulted in the approval of EUR 1.09 billion for 1.3 million tons of hydrogen. There are nine projects, for 1.1 GW of electrolyzer capacity. Greece-based joint venture Hellenic Hydrogen placed the lowest successful bid for funding in the general category, for its planned facility at the site of a former coal power plant READ MORE

US to Loan 53.3 Million Barrels of Oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The Trump administration said on Monday it will loan energy companies 53.3 million barrels of crude from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of a global agreement to calm oil markets that have spiked on the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran READ MORE

Romania Approves 30 Diesel Export Applications Amid Oil Crisis
The applications were considered in the period from April 1 to May 7, 2026 in the context of the declared crisis on the local market of crude oil and petroleum products READ MORE

Bulgargaz Selects Shell as Winner of LNG Cargo Tender
Bulgaria's state gas supplier Bulgargaz has selected Shell as the winner of ?a tender to deliver one cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG), the company said on Tuesday. Five companies submitted bids in the tender to supply about 1 million megawatt hours (MWh) of LNG for delivery in Turkey, Bulgargaz added. READ MORE

Serbia Dissatisfied with MOL's Revised Proposal on NIS Sale, to Continue Talks
Serbia is dissatisfied with a revised proposal from MOL regarding the future operation of the country's sole refinery, as the Hungarian oil company seeks to acquire the Russian-held majority stake in U.S.-sanctioned NIS, which owns and operates the facility, energy minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on Wednesday READ MORE

China's Xi Signals Trade Progress as ‘Biggest Summit’ with Trump Begins
China's Xi Jinping hailed positive trade negotiations with the United States at the start of a two-day summit with President Donald Trump in Beijing on Thursday, with discussions also set to cover the Iran war and ?U.S. arms sales to Taiwan READ MORE

Turkiye, France Seek Stronger Cooperation in Critical Minerals
Turkiye and France are exploring closer cooperation in critical minerals as both countries seek to strengthen supply chain security and expand partnerships in sectors vital for clean energy, advanced technologies and industrial production READ MORE

Trump Brought Top Ceos to Beijing but Few Big Deals Emerge
As US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping hold their final round of talks in Beijing, the summit has so far produced warm words and carefully managed symbolism - but few big economic outcomes READ MORE

Donald Trump Left Beijing Empty Handed – But Avoided Something Worse
When Britain sent its first formal diplomatic mission to China in 1793, one of the participants from London, Peter Auber, remarked that the group had been “received with the utmost politeness, treated with the utmost hospitality, watched with the utmost vigilance and dismissed with the utmost civility” READ MORE

UAE Says OPEC, OPEC+ Exit was Sovereign Strategic Decision, Not Political Move
The United Arab Emirates' decision to withdraw from OPEC and OPEC+ was a sovereign and strategic choice based on a comprehensive assessment of its production policy and future capabilities, the UAE energy minister, Suhail Al Mazrouei, said on Saturday in a post on X READ MORE

Greece’s Papastavrou: Serbia, North Macedonia to Join Vertical Corridor With Gas Interconnections
A meeting between energy ministers and officials from Serbia, Greece, North Macedonia and Bulgaria took place today in Athens, regarding natural gas supply. Minister of Environment and Energy of Greece Stavros Papastavrou said the Vertical Corridor would be expanded to North Macedonia and Serbia READ MORE

Israel's Nofar Energy to Develop 860 MWh in BESS Projects in Romania
Israeli renewables investor Nofar Energy said it has signed a limited notice to proceed (LNTP) and lump-sum procurement agreement worth around 80 million euro ($93.1 million) with an undisclosed battery supplier for the development of two battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Romania, totalling around 860 MWh READ MORE

IEA Chief Warns Commercial Oil Inventories are Depleting Rapidly, Only Weeks Left
Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, said on Monday that commercial oil inventories were depleting rapidly with only a few weeks worth left due to the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to shipping READ MORE

Montenegro's Jugopetrol Plans Higher Dividend in 2026
Montenegrin oil products distributor Jugopetrol said it plans to distribute a gross dividend of 1.50 euro ($1.74) per share this year, up from the 1.29 euro per share it paid out in 2025 READ MORE

Xi and Putin Signal United Front Against US in Beijing Talks
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin have signalled a united front against Washington during a summit in Beijing, warning against a global return to the “law of the jungle”. In a joint statement, China and Russia took aim at US President Donald Trump’s plans for a $175bn “Golden Dome” defence system, which would create a new missile field in the Midwest READ MORE

EBRD Lending 70 Mln Euro to Slovenia's NGEN Energetske Resitve
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is strengthening grid stability and energy security in central Europe by lending up to 70 million euro ($81 million) to Slovenia-based energy storage company NGEN Energetske Resitve, the lender said on Wednesday READ MORE

Petrobras Acquires 49.99% Stake in Lightsource bp Brazil Operations to Expand Renewable Energy Portfolio
Brazilian state-owned energy major Petrobras has completed the acquisition of a 49.99% stake in the Brazilian renewable energy operations of Lightsource bp, strengthening its presence in the country’s rapidly expanding clean energy sector READ MORE

European Bank For Reconstruction And Development Highlights Bulgaria’s Plan To Source Nearly Half Its Electricity From Renewables By 2030 In New Green Future Video
The video published by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development presents a clear picture of how Bulgaria is accelerating its clean-energy transition and how the Bank is supporting this shift. As shown in the film, Bulgaria is entering a decisive stage in reshaping its energy system, guided by European climate objectives and national plans that aim to gradually reduce reliance on coal while increasing the share of electricity generated from renewable sources READ MORE

Three Months In, is Trump Losing the Iran War?
Doubts grow whether Trump can translate tactical military successes into geopolitical win - Iran’s leverage over strait, unchecked nuclear ambitions undercut Trump’s war narrative - Pressure on Trump grows as war objectives remain unmet READ MORE

Hungary’s Top Oil Firm MOL Gets U.S. Extension for Talks to Buy Serbia’s NIS
Hungary's largest oil and gas corporation, MOL, secured a two-week extension from the U.S. government to complete talks to buy a majority stake in Serbia's NIS, an oil company controlled by Russia, Serbia's energy minister said on Friday READ MORE

Greece’s PPC Group Raises EUR 4.5 Billion in Capital Offering
The Greek state-controlled Public Power Corp. – PPC Group conducted a historic share capital increase, which met robust demand. It said it would raise EUR 4.5 billion including EUR 1.3 billion from the government, EUR 1.2 billion from existing shareholder CVC Capital Partners, and a EUR 250 million treasury shares placement READ MORE

Strait of Hormuz Crisis Triggers Global Fertilizer Supply Shock
The closed Strait of Hormuz has created a major fertilizer shock and threatens food security in developing nations as sulfur and phosphate exporters from the Middle East struggle to ship supply to the global markets READ MORE

Russia Says Armenia Could Lose Cheap Gas If It Turns Away from Moscow
The Kremlin said on Monday Armenia could lose the "very attractive" price it pays for Russian gas if it turned away from integration with Russia. Armenia is a member of a Russian-led economic union and heavily dependent on Russia for energy supplies, but in recent years it has sought deeper ties with the European Union, including adopting a law last year to launch its accession process to the bloc READ MORE

European Gas Storage Can’t Survive 3 More Months of Hormuz
Europe could face a critical shortfall in natural gas stocks if shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz persist for another 1-3 months, senior executives at Norwegian energy giant, Equinor ASA, have warned. Europe entered the current summer refill season with severely depleted gas reserves, with gas stores only 28% full following a prolonged winter READ MORE

Bulgaria's Helios Marine Raises 2.4 Mln Euro in IPO
Bulgarian technological company Helios Marine said on Tuesday that it has raised some 2.44 million euro ($2.84 million) in an initial public offering (IPO) held on May 20 on the BEAM market of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. READ MORE

Natural Gas Spending to Hit 10-Year High in 2026 as Oil Investment Falls, IEA Says
Global investment in natural gas projects is set to rise by more than 10% this year to $330 ?billion, its highest level in 10 years, while upstream oil ?spending declines for a third straight year, the International Energy Agency said in a report READ MORE

Mercuria and Motor Oil Hellas sign MoU for Dioriga Gas FSRU
Mercuria Energy and Motor Oil Hellas (MOH) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) establishing a framework for long-term co-operation in connection with the Dioriga Gas FSRU project in Greece’s Saronic Gulf READ MORE

Linglong, HBIS to Become First Major Active Electricity Consumers in Serbia
Chinese companies Linglong and HBIS are set to become the first major active consumers in Serbia’s electricity market. Car tire maker Linglong and HBIS, the owner of the Smederevo steel mill, have submitted the first applications in Serbia to connect their solar power plants to the transmission system as active consumers, or active buyers, as Serbian law refers to them READ MORE

Joint Statement by the Heads of the International Energy Agency, International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group and World Trade Organization
The Heads of the International Energy Agency, International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group and World Trade Organization met on May 28 as part of the high-level coordination group established in April to maximize their institutions’ response to the energy, trade, and economic impacts of the war in the Middle East. Following the meeting, they issued the statement below: READ MORE

Chevron Files Request to Acquire Offshore Greek Block, Energy Ministry Says
U.S. oil major Chevron has filed an official request to take over a 70% stake from Greece's Helleniq Energy in an offshore block southwest of Greece, the Greek energy ministry said on Thursday, in a move that would further expand the United States' presence in the Mediterranean READ MORE