Gas drilling rights near Crete create tensions in the area. Credit: Hlehnerer via canva.com
It began south of Crete. From there, Greece redrawn the lines. On June 17, 2025, Athens invited foreign companies to explore gas in an exclusive economic zone. Libyan united government blamed that water belonged to them, not to Greek. Behind both, it is Turkey that is still hidden in the shadows, and the 2019 maritime operation first blurred the boundaries of the region. Greek strategies involve testing the boundaries of map drawing and specific claims in areas where international law and substantive versions rarely match.
This is not only a standoff in Libya, Greece, but a three-way power triangle, who decides where the future of energy will begin in Europe. While Europe argued that it wanted to be green and sustainable, it became a battlefield for pipelines, cables, drilling rights and political influence. So how did you get here? Why is oil ambitions still driving new clashes? And why does this strange triangle between Crete, Tripoli and Ankara tell us about the real power struggle that unfolds in the waves? Let’s break it down.
Libya and why it caused Greece
On June 13, 2025, the Olympia National Petroleum Corporation opened a bid for a new offshore oil and gas exploration block that overlaps with the marine zone Greece already claims just south of Crete.
- Athens responded quickly, and by June 17, 2025, the Greek Minister of Environment and Energy had invited businesses to explore the exact same region.
- Libya opposed, and in a statement to the Tripoli government, accused Greece of violating its right to sovereignty, calling the act a provocation and ignoring appropriate negotiation channels.
- They demanded that Greece stop the process and return to the table to discuss the maritime boundaries.
Greece claims that everything was done in accordance with international law, which Libya is the signator. This is a reaffirmation of legal control over waters and is undoubtedly considered Greek.
This is from a chessboard where energy diplomacy and decades of alliances are all converged within.
Greece legal counter points
The area is in an exclusive economic zone, and Athens believes it is backed by international law, giving countries the right to explore and use maritime resources within 200 nautical miles of the coastline.
An interesting aspect to all of this is that because Libya is not the signator, Tripoli plays another playbook while Greece cites the law.
From a Greek standpoint, this is a legal and commercially depicted bid. Athens plant flags without sending ships or causing standoffs. It’s not military, it’s a rush of paper.
It is also no coincidence that Greece moved the longest schedule, which announced all licenses just four days after Libya. Speed indicates Athens is using defensive strikes on the map.
Greece’s longstanding stance on coordination on energy exploration is that it could destabilize the region. This takes us to the elephant in the room. The Libyan Flashpoint behind Greece is the third player with long memories and a map of its own.
Türkiye’s angle
Without mentioning Türkiye, we cannot discuss the maritime conflict between Greece and Libya. In 2019, the unified government of Ankara and Libya signed a maritime agreement depicting a bold new boundary for the Mediterranean.
- Greece was furious, and so was the EU, but the deal was hit and stepped into Türkiye on Libyan energy strategy.
- It has become related again as the area where you are auctioning today is similar to what is similar to the Turkish-Libya trade.
- Greece is responding to a move that appears to be a revival of Türkiye’s previous strategy. This time they are wearing Libyan colors.
In fact, a few days before this flare-up, Turkey submitted a new maritime map to UNESCO, challenging Aegean zoning. Different seas, overlapping claims from the same narratives contest a legal framework that does not conform to boundaries.
It’s a high stake striangle. Crete to the north, Tripoli to the south, and Ankara to the east. The real battle is not oil or gas. It goes beyond who defines the map for it. Greece defends its position on multiple fronts at the same time.
Uniform Europe
Countries such as Spain, Italy and Malta also have their own interests in Mediterranean energy. Some rely on Libya’s cooperation, while others have signed deals with North African energy companies. With this chess board, supporting Greece is a risk associated with future contracts and inflammation of dormant maritime conflicts.
Greece understands this and is why it acts more quickly on certain issues before turning into EU distances to hesitate. As that solidarity sways, the Eastern Mediterranean becomes more and more free. Because it is the truth of who is moving first, and anyone who makes the first move draws a map.
This is a battle for recognition in unions that slowly recalibrate priorities from the ocean.
