The story
Nationalisation of Gazprom Germania and establishment of SEFE
European regulators (after the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute) insisted, foreign strategic energy supplies should operate under the EU law. Just as energies should be sold on the free market and not via direct contracts. Therefore, Gazprom was forced to set up a net of companies (middlemen) operating under EU law. During early 2022, Gazprom-associated gas storage facilities became unusually low. In late March 2022, Gazprom Group transferred ownership of Gazprom Germania which was then exited. The German authorities viewed the transfer as illegal for such critical infrastructure of the gas handling, and issued a legal order to control the assets of the former Gazprom Germania. The German Federal Network Agency was made trustee of the company.
In May 2022, Russia issued sanctions against Gazprom Germania and other gas companies.
In August 2022, the German government had created a company for the possible nationalisation of SEFE. The company was originally called VERONIKA Zweiunddreizigste Vermögensverwaltungsgesellschaft, but on June 3, it was renamed Securing Energy for Europe Holding GmbH (SEEHG).
On November 14, 2022, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action decreed that the company would immediately be nationalised and full ownership was transferred to the German state. This action was authorised by the European Commission.
Activity since nationalisation and establishment as SEFE
Since the nationalisation of the company and its re-establishment as SEFE, the company has focused on developing alternative sources of supply to ensure security of supply in Germany and Europe.
Previously in June 2023, SEFE signed a 20-year contract for 2.25 million tonnes of LNG per year from US company Venture Global. In December 2023 SEFE and Equinor reached a deal for gas deliveries from Norway to Germany covering one third of total German industrial gas needs. The deal, reportedly worth around 50 billion euros, covers around10 billion cubic metres of gas supply a year from 2024 to 2034.
In 2024, SEFE has signed several deals for adiditional gas deliveries. In March, SEFE and Oman LNG agreed upon the delivery of 0.4 million tonnes of LNG annually between 2026 and 2029. Following a memorandum of understanding with ADNOC in March, SEFE signed a deal with the Abu Dhabi supplier in November. Starting in 2028, ADNOC will send an annual amount of one million tonnes of LNG over a period of 15 years to Germany. In addition, there have been contracts with US company ConocoPhillips for up to nine billion cubic meters of natural gas and with Angola LNG for half a million tons of LNG. "We would like to play a part in facilitating the transition to net zero and will prepare an offer to politics to play a role in developing the hydrogen economy," Laege said.
In March 2024 the company announced it would take full ownership of the gas transmission network holding company WIGA, buying out joint venture partner Wintershall Dea’s 50.02% stake. WIGA operates Opal, Eugal and NEL, in total 4,150 km of gas pipelines linking Germany to five neighbouring states. The takeover received European Commission approval in September 2024.
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The company is considering investments in clean hydrogen transport and storage and plans a hydrogen pipeline. Called Flow, the pipeline planned by WIGA subsidiary Gascade, Terranets BW, and VNG-owned Ontras would have capacity of 20GW and be 1,200 km long. The company’s CEO has said that conversion of some of its pipelines and underground gas storage capacity for use for clean hydrogen could involve investments of around 500 million euros. In line with this, a recently agreed partnership with Eletrobras aims at importing 200,000 tonnes of green hydrogen from Brazil each year from 2030 onwards.
From Wikipedia’s article on Securing Energy for Europe, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5