The energy company Sefe and the Norwegian Equinor have signed a long-term gas supply agreement. The agreement covers natural gas deliveries that correspond to a third of German industry’s needs.
The nationalized energy company Sefe has secured long-term gas supplies from the Norwegian Equinor. The agreements stipulate that Equinor will supply the German group Sefe with around ten billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from 2024 to 2034, the companies announced today. If this is adhered to, the annual quantities correspond to a third of German industrial requirements.
There is also an option for a further five years for a total of around 29 billion cubic meters. “The total volumes we have agreed make this one of the largest agreements in the history of our company and contribute significantly to the energy security of Germany and Europe,” said Equinor boss Anders Opedal. According to the current market price, the contract has a volume of around 50 billion euros.
In the long term also hydrogen deliveries
Equinor is one of the largest oil and gas producers in Europe and is two-thirds owned by the Norwegian state. Sefe is the former German subsidiary of the Russian Gazprom Group, which was first placed under trustee management by the federal government after the Russian attack on Ukraine and then nationalized.
The companies also signed a non-binding letter of intent for Sefe to become a long-term buyer of Equinor’s hydrogen supplies starting in 2029. Five terawatt hours per year are initially planned, which will gradually be increased to up to 40 terawatt hours per year from 2050 to 2060.
Gas storage 96 percent full
Sefe is headquartered in Berlin, employs around 1,500 people and, alongside Uniper and the EnBW subsidiary VNG, is one of the largest gas companies in Germany. Customers are industry and municipal utilities. In addition to procurement, business activities include trading, storage and distribution.
A year ago, there was still great concern in Germany that there could be bottlenecks following Russia’s gas supply stop. In the event of a gas shortage, the energy-intensive industry would have had to expect shutdowns.
This was avoided thanks to increased gas deliveries from the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway as well as rapidly constructed floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals. According to the operators, gas storage facilities in Germany were 96 percent full at the beginning of December, which is above average.