Natural gas/LNG house of the year: ENGIE

Energy companies in the Asia‑Pacific (Apac) region have faced an extremely challenging environment over the past year, with geopolitical tensions causing financial market volatility, physical market disruptions and intense competition for liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies.

The conflict in the Middle East and effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz – which caused major producers such as QatarEnergy to declare force majeure on LNG shipments to Asia – upended established trade routes and arbitrage differentials. This increased the pressure on firms to secure long-term, reliable and diversified supply, just as it became more challenging than ever to risk-manage long-term positions caused by volatility, illiquidity and a lack of transparency.

ENGIE was able to address these challenges because of its deep physical presence – internationally as well as regionally – and its risk management and structuring capabilities. It stood out in the Apac gas markets over the past year because, in particular, of its long‑term contracting activity in Thailand and South Korea, and its continued participation in the financial Japan Korea Marker benchmark at a time when many firms withdrew from the market.

Throughout 2025 and into 2026, ENGIE continued to expand its LNG presence in Apac, increasing its spot trading volumes with regional clients and taking part in long-term, fixed destination, delivered ex-ship (DES) trades. “We are offering our clients cost-effective, tailor-made and secure LNG solutions and we pride ourselves on being a reliable partner in any market situation,” says Ralf Dickgreber, head of global LNG and biomass at ENGIE.

“Over the past 12–18 months, our focus has been on leveraging our LNG portfolio to execute long-term transactions in Asia, allowing us to implement security of supply-focused partnerships with like-minded buyers.”

One standout deal last year was a 15‑year sales and purchase agreement (SPA) with Gulf, one of Thailand’s largest private energy companies. Under the transaction, ENGIE will supply Gulf with approximately 0.8 million tons of LNG per annum on a DES basis, with deliveries starting in 2028. Gulf owns a portfolio of gas-fired and renewable power generation assets, as well as a gas business for the purpose of providing a stable supply of gas for power generation.

“This agreement is a strong example of how ENGIE is expanding beyond its historical European base by building long-term LNG partnerships in some of the world’s fastest-growing markets,” says Guillaume Servajean, chief commercial officer for the global LNG department at ENGIE.

The structure is based on ENGIE’s long‑term US supply contracts. As a result, the trade not only provides much-needed reliable supply to Thailand itself, but also supports Gulf’s ambitions to grow its commercial LNG activities. “Being an energy utility ourselves, we understand that security of supply should not come at the expense of flexibility, which is critical for our partners to manage variability in their demand profiles,” says Servajean.

In another innovative transaction, ENGIE signed a long-term LNG SPA with Korea Midland Power Company (KOMIPO), a state-owned South Korean utility operating gas-fired assets and also investing in renewables. The deal was structured as a long‑term Henry Hub-indexed DES deal for six cargoes per year, supporting security of supply and the country’s gradual coal-to-gas switching strategy.

The innovation here lies in the structuring – rather than offering standard short-term spot exposure, ENGIE provided a long-term indexed supply transaction aligned with the client’s generation profile and strategic needs. The DES format helps reduce logistical complexity for the client, while the Henry Hub indexation brings a differentiated pricing structure within an LNG market shaped by multiple competing benchmarks.

“The deal illustrates how ENGIE can bring together its global sourcing and structuring capabilities to deliver reliable long-term LNG supply with a differentiated pricing structure aligned with the client’s needs,” says Dickgreber.