EditGreece’s Vertical Gas Corridor ambitions hit market reality
The challenge is compounded by strong competition from northern routes, which have already covered a substantial share of Ukraine’s supply needs
The unsuccessful auctions for booking capacity along the Vertical Gas Corridor from the Aegean Sea to Ukraine have delivered a sobering message to Greece, which has consistently promoted itself as an emerging energy hub for south-eastern Europe. According to Spiros Sideris, chief editor of IBNA agency, partner of EUalive.net, the outcome highlights the gap between political ambition and market reality.
Despite the political fanfare surrounding agreements to transport US liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Greek entry points towards northern and central Europe, the market has sent a clear signal: without competitive pricing and commercial viability, geopolitical visions struggle to translate into reality.
None of the three simultaneous auctions for transporting natural gas to the Ukrainian market scheduled for January attracted a single bid. The tenders covered routes via Revithoussa, the floating LNG terminal off Alexandroupolis, and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). This outcome can hardly be described as temporary.
New Vertical gas corridor to boost energy links from Greece to Ukraine by 2026
On the contrary, it highlights the structural weaknesses of the southern route in a European market where traders and end buyers are guided by final price, availability and the simplicity of flows, rather than by political declarations about “strategic corridors”.
Geography and economics are working against Greece. Ukraine and central European markets are significantly closer to established LNG entry points in the Baltic and North Seas, such as Poland, Lithuania, Germany or even Croatia. Shorter distances, fewer transit points and more mature networks reduce costs and uncertainty.
By contrast, gas entering Europe from the south must pass through multiple national transmission systems, each with different tariffs and regulatory regimes. This increases overall costs and makes the final product less competitive.
The challenge is compounded by strong competition from northern routes, which have already covered a substantial share of Ukraine’s supply needs ahead of the winter period. In this context, the Vertical Corridor has struggled to find its place, despite being presented as an alternative “security corridor” for south-eastern Europe.
Particular concern was raised by the absence of Greece’s state-owned gas company DEPA from the auction, despite a memorandum of cooperation signed with Naftogaz covering gas supplies for the period from December 2025 to March 2026. This has reinforced perceptions of caution even among potential supporters, where economic parameters appear insufficiently attractive.
At the same time, the narrative of Greece as an “energy hub” is further undermined by stagnation in other flagship projects. The EastMed pipeline has effectively been pushed to the background, with no clear prospects for revival, while the Great Sea Interconnector remains stalled amid technical, financial and geopolitical uncertainty.
The emerging picture is one of a mosaic of announcements and symbolic agreements lacking the commercial foundation needed to turn them into viable infrastructure.
The upcoming auctions at the end of January are unlikely to significantly change this picture unless tangible measures are taken to address tariffs and regulatory complexity. The creation of a working group by the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy represents an implicit acknowledgement that the current model is not functioning as originally envisaged.
The key question remains whether Greece can become a genuine energy hub when markets repeatedly reject the proposed routes. For now, government celebrations are colliding with the cold arithmetic of costs and competitiveness, leaving the vision in limbo, Sideris concludes/
Bulgaria pins hopes on the Vertical Gas Corridor
Against this backdrop, Bulgaria is trying to position itself as a gas hub for the Balkans, driven in part by the accelerated development of the Vertical Gas Corridor and lobbying for new gas routes.
In November, state-owned gas companies across the region struck a far more enthusiastic tone regarding new south–north oriented gas projects.
Month ago, gas transmission system operators from Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine, alongside the operator of the Greece–Bulgaria interconnector, jointly asked energy regulators to grant accelerated approval for two new gas delivery routes to Ukraine.
The joint letter was signed during the “Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation” forum in Athens, attended by US energy and interior secretaries Chris Wright and Doug Burgum, as well as energy ministers from the participating countries.
The proposal concerns specially designed bundled capacity solutions allowing the purchase of gas volumes from the Alexandroupolis LNG terminal and TAP, transported via the Greece–Bulgaria interconnector and onwards through the Trans-Balkan pipeline via Romania and Moldova to Ukraine.
The United States is also strongly backing the project, seeing it as an opportunity to increase sales of US LNG in the region, unloaded at Greek terminals.
A delivery route from Greece to Ukraine via the three other countries is already operational, while the new routes promise more competitive tariffs.
“Accelerated approval of these additional products will significantly increase the potential for LNG to reach Ukraine through Greek terminals, thereby strengthening energy security and enabling traders to choose optimal delivery routes depending on their needs,” the operators state in their letter.
The three routes are expected to ensure access to reliable gas supplies following a full ban on Russian gas, according to Vladimir Malinov, director of Bulgaria’s state gas operator Bulgartransgaz, who is also a signatory to the letter. The other signatories include the transmission system operators of Greece (DESFA), Romania (Transgaz), Moldova (Vestmoldtransgaz) and Ukraine (GTSOU LLC).
The two new corridors will enable gas transport from the US and the Caspian region to Ukraine. Malinov noted that the first route, developed in the spring, has proven successful, with market interest already evident and Ukraine receiving gas from secure sources through it.
Current information emerging from Greece, however, comes as a cold shower for ambitions to expand gas transmission capacity from Greece through Bulgaria to the rest of the region.
With additional content by Krassen Nikolov.
Caption: The Greek LNG terminal on the island of Revitousa, photo by DESFA
Updated: December 24, 2025 - 05:42
