EurOil: Germany’s SEFE continues to transport Russian LNG

A German state-run trader has come under criticism for continuing to transport Russian LNG, with the company Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE) transporting a Russian LNG cargo to India earlier in October for the first time since last year.

The firm was previously a unit of Russia’s Gazprom until the German government nationalized it last year.

SEFE company finds itself between a rock and a hard place because breaching its legacy 20-year contract signed in 2018 to deliver Russian LNG would cost German taxpayers at least €10bn in damages and penalties.

With the penalties amounting to more that the €6.3-7.8bn paid for the company’s bailout, combined with the fact that if SEFE chose not to deliver the cargoes, Russia would be able to sell the LNG elsewhere while still claiming the payment from SEFE and ultimately increasing its profit, SEFE has decided to continue the shipments.

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