Germany resumes trading in Russian LNG

Nationalized by the German government in the fall of 2022, the gas company SEFE (formerly Gazprom Germania) plans to start using Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) once again for the first time since the beginning of last year’s energy crisis. This contradicts the federal government’s goal of reducing dependence on Russian supplies.

The company Securing Energy for Europe GmbH (SEFE) plans to receive an LNG shipment from the Yamal liquefaction plant in Siberia on October 1st. SEFE’s tanker, the Amur River, will pick up the cargo in Zeebrugge, Belgium, and then transport it to India.

Berlin had previously strongly opposed the import of Russian LNG, emphasizing that it did not support the purchase of Russian liquefied gas – as stated in a January document from the Ministry of Economy, which oversees SEFE.

After the nationalization of SEFE by the federal government, Moscow imposed sanctions on the company, blocking its access to Russian LNG, including from Yamal. However, in June, Russia eased this ban.