Success beyond expectations in the capacity reservation auctions for the Vertical Gas Corridor

This week’s bookings in capacity auctions for the Vertical Gas Corridor exceeded expectations, according to a LinkedIn post by DESFA, Greece’s gas transmission network operator, according to CEE Energy News.

Demand was highest at the Sidirokastro interconnection point on the Greece-Bulgaria border, where 46% of available export capacity was booked for 2026/2027–2029/2030 and 26% for 2030/2031.

Capacity was also reserved for the gas year 2040/2041. Among the major participants was Atlantic SEE LNG Trade, a joint venture formed by Aktor Group and DEPA Commercial, which reserved approximately 13,000 MWh per day (equivalent to approximately 4.7 TWh per year). Metlen secured 20,000 MWh/day.

At Sidirokastro, a total export capacity of 100 GWh/day was offered.

Also this week there was a meeting between the operators of the transport systems of the countries of the Vertical Corridor, including Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania and Moldova, two new countries, North Macedonia and Serbia, joining the initiative.

This development marks the beginning of the necessary technical work for the expansion of the Vertical Corridor in North Macedonia and Serbia, following the political decision taken at the quadrilateral ministerial meeting organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens on May 15.

The integration of energy markets could be a first step towards the integration of the Western Balkans into the European energy system, commented the Greek Minister of Environment and Energy, Stavros Papastavrou.

The Ministry’s announcement also points out that Greece is moving from a gas-consuming market to a gas-exporting one throughout the region, with exports tripling in the past six months and the country’s capacity expected to soon reach 9 billion cubic meters (bcm).

As Maria Sferruzza, director of DESFA, noted “our job is to take the molecule wherever it is needed. Given that the Russian gas phase-out is now only a year away, the future energy architecture will require all available routes.”

The Vertical Corridor is a project designed for the supply of natural gas from the south, from Greece, from the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in Revithoussa and Alexandroupolis, but also gas coming from Azerbaijan, to the north, through Bulgaria and Romania to Hungary, Slovakia and Ukraine.

The idea is to replace Russian gas imports that arrive in Southeast Europe via the Turk Stream submarine pipeline with Azerbaijani gas coming via the pipeline and with LNG from various sources – mostly LNG from the US, which is unloaded in Greece and then transported on the existing – and expanded – pipeline infrastructure to the north.