“Germany has acted decisively to diversify its energy portfolio, and LNG will be a vital part of that mix as it seeks to strengthen its energy security while at the same time advancing environmental progress,” said Venture’s CEO, Mike Sabel.

In the latest agreement, the US exporter said late last week it had signed a 20-year sales and purchase deal with German gas importer Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE), a newly renamed conglomerate with 40 corporate entities operating in more than 20 countries in Europe, Asia and North America.

This transaction covers 2.25 million t/y of gas to be drawn from CP2 LNG, Venture Global’s third project, by Wingas — a German unit of Russia’s Gazprom, following an asset swap with BASF concluded in 2015.

Earlier, the US supplier inked a 20-year supply deal with German energy firm EnBW covering some 2 million t/y of LNG from its Plaquemines and CP2 facilities in the US state of Louisiana.

Between the two offtake agreements, Venture Global has pledged to deliver 4.25 million t/y of LNG to the two German buyers. Sabel said in particular SEFE is playing a leading role in ensuring security of energy supply, not only for Germany but the rest of the European gas market.

Up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, SEFE was owned by Russian gas giant Gazprom and traded as Gazprom Germania. Since then, it has been brought under the control of Germany's federal energy regulator, Bundesnetzagentur.

In other markets, Venture Global has LNG deals with ExxonMobil, Chevron, Japanese energy company Jera, US LNG company New Fortress Energy, Japanese oil and gas exploration firm Inpex, China Gas and EnBW to draw supplies when the CP2 LNG project, on which Venture Global expects begins construction on later this year, starts producing.

To date, the US company has sold 9.25 million t/y of the 20 million t/y nameplate capacity projected for CP2 and said it has “active discussions ongoing” for the remaining capacity.

Additionally, Venture Global recently signed a deal with Australian engineering firm Worley to build an LNG export terminal in Louisiana next to its existing Calcasieu Pass liquefaction plant.

“By joining forces with Venture Global LNG, SEFE makes another important step on our mission to secure energy for German and European customers and meet the energy demand of the region,” said Egbert Laege, the US company’s CEO.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist