Owners
SEFE (Securing Energy for Europe) is the operator of several large gas storage facilities in Germany. Until 2022, the company was called Gazprom Germania GmbH and owned by Gazprom Export, but was nationalized by the German government with the seizure of all assets.
Aktivs
At the time of the nationalization of the company by the German government, the holding included:
- Wingas Sales Company,
- Astora underground gas storage operator,
- Gazprom Marketing & Trading, and
- global LNG trader Gazprom Global LNG.
History
2024: 15-year gas agreement with UAE's Adnoc to supply 1 million tonnes of LNG per year from 2028
In March 2024, the UAE entered into a 15-year gas agreement with Germany.
Adnoc will supply SEFE with 1 million tons of LNG per year.
Deliveries from the Ruweis LNG plant, which Adnoc plans to build, will begin in 2028.
2023
Gas deal with Norway's Equinor until 2034 for €50bn
German energy company Sefe on December 19, 2023 entered into a 50 billion euro ($55 billion) gas deal with Norwegian Equinor, providing a third of the industrial needs of Europe's largest economy in gas.
Norway has been the main supplier of natural gas to Germany since the country withdrew supplies from Russia in August 2022. Norway currently accounts for approximately 40-50% of gas imports to Germany.
The supply deal provides for the supply of about 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year from January 1, 2024 to 2034, as well as an option for another five years for 29 billion cubic meters.
German authorities demand termination of the company's agreement with Russia on the supply of LNG concluded before 2038
The top official of the Ministry of Economy Germany in September 2023# xj4y7vzkg said that the nationalized company, previously part of Gazprom PJSC "," should terminate the supply agreement LNG from Russia amid "growing disputes over the company's ties."
Securing Energy for Europe GmbH has an inherited contract it is "trying to get rid of in various ways." Supply obligations with the Siberian plant are valid until 2038. SEFE has no plans to import LNG into Germany. She intends to pick up the cargo in Belgium and send it to India.
2022
German government allocates €6.3 billion to save the company
In December 2022, the European Commission allowed the Cabinet GERMANY of Ministers to allocate €6.3 billion to support SEFE.
Nationalization of the company by the German government
On November 14, 2022, the German government decided to nationalize Gazprom's former subsidiary, SEFE (Securing Energy for Europe), which owns the largest underground gas storage facility in Western Europe, Reden, DPA.
Resumption of work after receiving a loan of 10 billion euros from the German state bank
On June 29, 2022, the Financial Times wrote that the renamed Gazprom Germania GmbH had resumed operations. Its head, E. Lage, said in an interview with the FT that the company had returned and was ready to resume operations after receiving a loan of 10 billion euros from the German state banking group KfW. The loan provided SEFE with the necessary liquidity and helped it pay for the more expensive gas it buys.
In parallel with the process of renaming and lending assets obtained as a result of nationalization with the participation of the German state, the US Treasury Department published a license to conduct transactions with Gazprom Germania GmbH. The permit will be valid until September 30, 2022. The license applies to the parent company and to all structures owned by it by 50% or more. The company can now place new debt and issue shares. It is worth paying attention to the efficiency and consistency of actions. Changes of this scale require planning and careful preparation for at least 2-3 years.
Getting a captured company under Russian sanctions
Russia in May 2022 promptly imposed sanctions against both the former Gazprom Germania and its subsidiaries in the EU. A complete ban on new deals and on the execution of existing contracts was introduced. Ships chartered by the above enterprises are prohibited from entering Russian ports.
Transfer of the company "in trust" to the German agency BNetzA and renaming to SEFE
On April 4, 2022, the German Ministry of Economy transferred Gazprom Germania GmbH and all its subsidiaries, including Gazprom Marketing & Trading Ltd. to the trust of the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA). Initially, the question was about the nationalization of the company, but the German side did not use this wording due to fears of a serious deterioration in Russian-German relations. It was planned that Gazprom Germania would be managed by BNetzA until September 30, 2022. However, then the German authorities extended the period of external management of the company for an indefinite period and renamed it Securing Energy for Europe GmbH (SEFE).
Together with Gazprom Germania, charters for gas tankers Amur River, Ob River and Clean Energy flying the flag of the Marshall Islands also came under the control of the German government. Amur River and Ob River were chartered by Gazprom Marketing & Trading until 2028 and the vessel Clean Energy until 2026.
The Ministry of Finance of Germany handles an issue of nationalization of German "subsidiaries" of Gazprom
The German government, after Russia's demand to transfer gas payments to rubles on April 31, 2022, is weighing options for a division of the Russian gas giant PJSC Gazprom.
The German Ministry of Finance is working on the nationalization of the German subsidiaries of Gazprom and Rosneft, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported.
Gazprom's subsidiaries in Europe are under pressure as customers and business partners refuse to do business with them, raising the possibility that some will not survive.
Options being analysed include nationalising Wingas GmbH, which supplies about 20% of the German gas market, or finding a new energy supplier for its customers. Wingas is part of Gazprom Germania GmbH, which also owns about 25% of Germany's gas storage facilities. EU officials raided the offices of both companies in late March as part of an antitrust investigation.
Officials are looking into how the possible collapse of Wingas will affect the country's economy and a final decision has yet to be made.
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