SEFE Deal Secures Purchase of 2 Million Tonnes of Argentine Gas Annually for Eight Years

Key Facts

German company SEFE and Southern Energy signed an eight-year liquefied natural gas sale and purchase agreement on March 4, 2026, with deliveries due to begin in late 2027, according to a SEFE statement. Under the agreement, the German company will buy 2 million tonnes of LNG annually. That volume represents about one-third of Southern Energy’s expected annual production, according to the statement. The two parties described the agreement as Argentina’s first long-term LNG export contract. It also marks SEFE’s first long-term offtake partnership with an Argentine supplier. The agreement places an existing European contract in the context of Argentina’s broader ambitions to export gas, but does not establish that other contracts mentioned in a November 3 report have been signed.

Southern Energy includes Argentina’s YPF, with a 25% stake, alongside Pan American Energy, Pampa Energía, Harbour Energy and Golar LNG, according to a SEFE statement. Pan American Energy holds a 30% stake, while Pampa Energía owns 20%, Harbour Energy 15% and Golar LNG 10%. This structure brings Argentine and international energy companies together in the export venture that signed the agreement with SEFE. YPF’s stake shows its direct connection to the European contract through Southern Energy. However, the agreement in question is with Southern Energy and does not in itself establish the completion of additional contracts by the Argentina LNG project promoted by YPF and its partners.

Southern Energy estimated that exports from its project would exceed $20 billion from the start of operations in 2027 through 2035, according to a SEFE statement. This is an expected export value over that period, not realized proceeds or revenue guaranteed by the contract alone. Southern Energy’s chairman said the agreement confirms Argentina’s position “as a new and strategic international LNG supplier,” adding that it would help diversify global supply sources. The official also linked it to strengthening European energy security. The contract comes as YPF and its partners pursue a separate path to develop the Argentina LNG project. Accordingly, the volumes contracted with SEFE should be distinguished from the production and export targets of the larger project.

On February 12, 2026, YPF, Eni and XRG signed a binding joint development agreement for the Argentina LNG project and began the front-end engineering design, commercial and financing phase, according to the project document. YPF’s chairman said at the time that the partners would work toward reaching a final investment decision in the second half of 2026. In a subsequent statement dated August 14, Eni said the project had applied to join Argentina’s RIGI investment incentive regime. The project targets combined liquefaction capacity of 12 million tonnes a year across two floating units, with a final investment decision targeted by the end of 2026, according to Eni. The project document sets out a target of exports of up to 12 million tonnes a year by 2030, with the potential to increase capacity to 18 million tonnes a year. These figures remain project targets, while the SEFE contract is a separate supply agreement with Southern Energy.

Adding to the project’s development path is a non-binding financing offer of up to $6 billion that YPF received from the U.S. Export-Import Bank to support the LNG export value chain, according to the company’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on October 28, 2026. The filing confirmed the proposal is non-binding, so it does not establish that the financing has been completed or converted into a final loan. The proposed financing comes ahead of the project’s targeted final investment decision, while the project framework indicates that commercial and financing work remains part of the development process. As for the contracts discussed in a November 3 report, no documented details are available here to establish that they have been signed or are final or long-term. The agreement signed with SEFE therefore cannot be treated as evidence of those contracts, as it is a separate agreement signed in March with Southern Energy.