Shell and Greek energy and metals firm Metlen have signed a cooperation deal for LNG supply and trading, which would boost deliveries to Greek import terminals and supply to southern and central Europe.
Metlen and the UK-based supermajor, which is the world’s top LNG trader, will supply and trade 0.5 to 1.0 billion cubic meters of LNG per year over the five-year period 2027–2031, the Greek company said on Wednesday.
Deliveries will be made to the Greek LNG regasification facilities in Revithoussa and Alexandroupolis. The agreement also envisages the use of the Vertical Gas Corridor, enabling access to additional European markets beyond Southeast Europe.
Greece aims to become a gas hub for non-Russian gas entering Europe, while Shell is the biggest buyer of LNG from the United States, positioning the supermajor to support growing natural gas supply needs through its global portfolio, Metlen said.
The Greek company says that the deal “is further strengthening its position as a key natural gas player in the region, enhancing market liquidity while contributing to regional energy security and reinforcing Greece’s role as a strategic regional energy hub.”
The memorandum of understanding, signed in Washington, D.C., in the presence of U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, reflects the intention of both parties to pursue joint development across a number of European countries, in alignment with the Vertical Gas Corridor initiative.
As the European Union moves to ditch Russian gas – both pipeline and LNG – by 2027, Europe is increasingly relying on LNG from the United States.
Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, Asia received the most volumes of U.S. LNG exports, averaging 46% from 2017 through 2021, according to EIA data. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, exports to Europe surged, and in 2022, Europe received 69% of all LNG exports from the United States, up from 34% in 2021. From January through November 2025, Europe received 68% of U.S.-origin volumes.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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