Energy Ministers of "Vertical Gas Corridor" to Convene in Washington Next Month

Energy ministers from countries participating in the "Vertical Gas Corridor" initiative—aimed at facilitating natural gas flows from Greece to Southeastern Europe and Ukraine—are scheduled to meet in Washington at the end of February.

The meeting was announced by Greek Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou and U.S. Department of Energy official Joshua Volz during the Athens Energy Summit. Volz emphasized that the project’s greatest challenge is ensuring commercial viability among partners that have not historically cooperated. "This is not a charity project," Volz noted, stating that the goal is to transition from current minimal flows to significant volumes of gas.

The corridor is designed to transport Azerbaijani gas and LNG through Greece to Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Slovakia, Hungary, and Ukraine’s underground storage facilities, utilizing the TAP pipeline and the Alexandroupolis LNG terminal.