This story requires a subscription
This includes a single user license.
At the same time, SEFE said on Wednesday that it has fully refinanced and voluntarily canceled the remaining liquidity support facility of 2.5 billion euros provided by Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), Germany’s state‑owned development bank, with both transactions completed on April 2.
In 2022, SEFE received liquidity support from KfW in the form of a credit facility of up to 13.8 billion euros to secure the company’s liquidity amid an “unprecedented crisis situation.”
Following European Commission approval of the German government’s recapitalization and nationalization of SEFE, a debt‑to‑equity conversion of 6.3 billion euros was implemented, thereby reducing the KfW facility to 7.5 billion euros and significantly strengthening SEFE’s capital structure.
Since April 2023, the facility has remained fully undrawn, “demonstrating SEFE’s stable liquidity position and disciplined financial management,” the company said.
In 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, SEFE executed a structured and orderly reduction of the KfW facility in three equal tranches of 2.5 billion euros.
The first reduction took place in January 2025, reducing the facility to 5 billion euros, followed by a further reduction in September 2025 to 2.5 billion euros.
On 2 April 2026, SEFE completed its exit from state‑backed liquidity support, voluntarily canceling the final tranche of 2.5 billion euros and refinancing it through the newly signed RCF with a syndicate of 27 international banks, it said.
Despite challenging market conditions, the RCF attracted “very strong interest from financial markets and was oversubscribed by a factor of 2.2, underscoring the high level of confidence in SEFE’s credit quality and its strategic importance for European energy security,” the company said.
With these transactions, SEFE achieves full financial independence and returns to solely market‑based funding, the company added.
Tender
SEFE recently started taking LNG deliveries under a previously signed contract with state-owned producer Oman LNG as scheduled, a SEFE spokesperson told LNG Prime.
“These LNG deliveries are intended for various destinations and are not currently affected by the conflict in the Middle East,” the spokesperson said
Oman LNG currently operates three liquefaction trains at its site in Qalhat near Sur.
In 2024, Oman LNG and SEFE finalized their sales and purchase deal.
Under the deal, SEFE will buy 0.4 million tonnes per annum of LNG between 2026 and 2029.
SEFE recently launched a tender for medium-term LNG deliveries covering the period 2027 to 2036.
According to SEFE, the tender is for DES (delivered ex-ship) LNG cargoes, primarily into north-west European terminals.
Contract durations will range from one to ten years.
SEFE said the tender is open to both LNG producers and portfolio players, with deliveries from successful counterparties set to start as early as 2027.
“With this LNG tender, we want to engage the market, aiming to mitigate supply disruptions in the Middle East and strengthen Europe’s security of supply, while complementing our recent long-term LNG deals, including that with Argentina,” Frederic Barnaud, SEFE’s CCO, said.
QatarEnergy recently announced that it expects the damage to its Ras Laffan complex caused by missile strikes to cost about $20 billion a year in lost revenue and to take up to five years to repair, impacting supply to markets in Europe and Asia.
The firm said that it will be compelled to declare force majeure for up to five years on some long-term LNG contracts.
