The German Ministry of Economy has reported that it has found a legal basis for terminating the SEFE contract – the nationalized subsidiary of Gazprom – for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia, writes Merkur.
Despite the nationalization in 2022, SEFE is still bound by an old contract with Gazprom, which stipulates that the German company must pay Russia even in the event of a cessation of LNG supplies.
The current contract between SEFE and Gazprom is valid until 2040 and provides for the purchase of 2.9 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year. Only in the first half of 2025, the German company purchased 25 batches of LNG from Russia.
Now, the German Ministry of Economy claims to have found force majeure grounds for the early termination of the contract: the EU's RePowerEU plan to reduce dependence on Russian energy sources and the latest package of sanctions against Moscow.
"As far as the federal government is aware, both the RePowerEU resolution and the so-called 19th sanctions package may lead to SEFE being forced to cease LNG purchases under the old contract... and at the same time be able to invoke force majeure circumstances," the ministry said.
The Ministry of Economy added that it has currently instructed SEFE to "purchase only the minimum amount of Russian LNG that is legally necessary."
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