European countries are loosening their strict opposition to new oil and gas drilling, reversing years of climate-driven resistance to fossil fuels as governments seek to reduce a heavy reliance on costly energy imports, including from the U.S.
The change in tack in Greece, Italy and Britain reflects a new paradigm shaped by the 2022 energy price shock: an acceptance that fossil fuels - natural gas in particular - will remain a key part of the energy mix for decades, even as the region also builds out renewables capacity to slash greenhouse gas emissions.
The European Union depends on gas imports for 85% of its consumption, opens new tab, according to Eurostat, compared with a peak domestic production of 50% of demand in the 1990s.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Europe was forced to replace at a huge cost its reliance on pipeline Russian oil and gas with imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude, primarily from the U.S., which today accounts for 16.5% of the EU's total gas consumption.
Developing new domestic production would therefore allow Europe to reduce its reliance on gas imports and potentially benefit from lower energy costs.
The change is stark in Greece, which in November issued its first offshore oil and gas exploration licence in over four decades to a consortium of Exxon Mobil, Energean and Helleniq Energy.
