ATHENS — Washington’s ambition to replace Russia as Eastern Europe’s dominant gas supplier has hit a surprise hurdle: European buyers, it seems, don’t want it.
On Monday, an auction for contracts to carry American gas along pipelines from Greece to Ukraine, organized by Greece’s national gas network operator, attracted almost zero interest for the second consecutive month.
Out of nearly 72 gigawatt-hours of capacity offered across three different entry routes, a minuscule 48 megawatt-hours were eventually booked — less than 0.1 percent of the total. In December’s auction, no one bid at all.
The indifference dealt a major blow to Greece’s ambition to become a new European gateway for U.S. liquefied natural gas imports and prompted warnings that President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy is undermining his own energy export ambitions.
