FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Melissa Brown, mbrown@usea.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Energy Association (USEA) has released a new policy brief, "The Vertical Gas Corridor: Strengthening Europe's Energy Security with US LNG". The brief introduces the Vertical Gas Corridor (VGC), a new strategic route that transports liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Greece into Southeastern and Central Europe, including Ukraine.

At this year’s Gastech conference, which USEA President & CEO Mark Menezes attended, one message was clear: Europe is accelerating its break from Russian energy, with imports set to end by 2027 and new contracts banned from January 2026. This shift creates a massive opportunity—and responsibility—for the U.S. to step in as Europe’s most reliable supplier of natural gas.

The United States Energy Association (USEA) endorses the initiative of European natural gas transmission operators to create a Vertical Gas Corridor (VGC). Leveraging Greece’s new Alexandroupolis FSRU and the Trans-Balkan Pipeline in reverse flow, the VGC connects seven countries—Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, and Ukraine. With a potential capacity of 10 BCM, it provides a secure, scalable alternative to Russian gas while feeding into Europe’s largest underground storage system in Ukraine.