24 Feb 2026
DESFA reports high demand for the vertical gas corridor
The development acquires particular significance, according to DESFA.
- RE+D Magazine
The so-called “Vertical Gas Corridor” is receiving significant momentum, as the auction for capacity allocation in March was concluded with almost full booking of the offered capacity, according to an announcement by DESFA.
According to DESFA, 25,000,000 kWh were reserved out of a total of 25,554,129 kWh offered, corresponding to approximately 98% of the available capacity.
The natural gas volumes will be transported via Route 1, which originates at DESFA’s LNG facilities on Revithoussa Island and has Ukraine as its final destination. As the Operator notes, the process was carried out in close cooperation with the region’s transmission system operators — Bulgartransgaz, Transgaz, VestMoldTransgaz and Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU).
The development is of particular importance, as previous auctions had failed to attract investor interest. It also coincides with the visit of Minister of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou to the United States, where a series of meetings is expected to take place with the aim of removing obstacles to the project’s full activation.
As DESFA emphasizes, the success of the auction, on the eve of critical meetings commencing in Washington, D.C., highlights the potential of the “Vertical Corridor” to evolve into a “new energy backbone of Europe,” offering a reliable and competitive alternative route for the supply of diversified natural gas volumes from South to North. At the same time, it reinforces the role of Greece as a strategic energy hub for Southeastern and Central-Eastern Europe.
According to reports, no interest was recorded for the other two available routes (Route 2 and Route 3), which concern gas transmission via the Alexandroupolis floating LNG terminal and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).