Gazprom will soon exit the Greek consortium Prometheus Gas, whose Greek shareholder Copelouzos owns 50% of the capital, to buy the other half owned by the Russian gas giant, a source in the Greek group told AFP on Monday.

“This is a divorce of discontent, mainly because of the war in Ukraine and European sanctions,” said a representative of the Athens group Copelouzos, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He emphasized that the end of this partnership, which began in 1991, “will be resolved within two weeks” and that “the current contract will expire in December 2027 as planned.”

The volume of Russian gas “has decreased significantly compared to last year, and the price has increased,” a Greek official said.

Recently, the specialized Greek press reported on the “divorce” between Gazprom and Prometheus Gas, stressing that now the Copelouzos group will become the sole shareholder of Prometheus Gas.

This is an “expected development” given the geopolitical changes and the complete restructuring of the gas market in the Balkans and Europe, financial news website mononews reported last week.

Greek group Copelouzos has recently made new investments in a power plant and liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and regasification in the city of Alexandroupolis in northeastern Greece.

Despite historical ties with Russia, Greece, as a member of the European Union, supported Western sanctions after the attack on Ukraine, which led to a sharp reduction in Russian gas supplies to Europe.