Trafigura starts five-year gas deliveries to Germany as winter storage runs low
Trafigura has started delivering natural gas to Germany under a new five-year deal that begins Sunday 1 November 2026. The commodity trader will supply more than 150 terawatt-hours of gas to Germany’s state-owned gas importer, Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE), over the next five years.
The deal is backed by a $1.5 billion five-year loan signed by Trafigura with a syndicate of nine banks. The loan is partly supported by a guarantee from the German government under its Untied Loan Guarantee programme, run through the export credit agency Euler Hermes.
The new contract replaces a four-year Trafigura-SEFE deal that expired at the end of October. Annual deliveries will rise to 30 terawatt-hours, about 3 billion cubic metres, up from around 23 terawatt-hours a year under the old contract. Trafigura will supply the gas mainly from its global portfolio.
The timing matters because Europe is heading into winter with storage below usual levels. European benchmark gas prices reached 100 euros per megawatt-hour on 28 October, their highest since December 2022, according to Reuters. Gas storage sites across the European Union were 75 percent full, and Germany’s storage was just below 62 percent full, according to figures cited by OilPrice.
SEFE’s chief commercial officer, Frédéric Barnaud, said partnerships like this “strengthen our ability to source natural gas from a broad range of origins and reinforce our position as a reliable energy provider.”
Why it matters
Germany is Europe’s biggest gas user, and it has been rebuilding its energy security since Russian pipeline gas supplies were cut off. A five-year deal with a trader that can buy gas from many countries gives SEFE more choice about where its gas comes from. The German government guarantee shows Berlin still sees gas supply as a matter of national security, not just business.
With benchmark prices at their highest in almost four years and storage below the levels of recent winters, a cold snap could push prices higher still. The deal does not fix that by itself, but it locks in a steady flow of gas for five winters.
What happens next
Deliveries under the new contract run from today through November 2031. The next test will be whether prices ease as more gas arrives, and how fast Germany and the wider EU can refill storage before the coldest months.
This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.
