The German federal government is looking at ways to support LNG imports from Argentina through state guarantees. According to an answer from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWi) to a parliamentary question by left‑wing MP Tamara Mazzi, a pre‑emptive inquiry had already been lodged in late January concerning an LNG project in the Argentine province of Rio Negro.
The requested support involves guarantees for “Ungebundene Finanzkredite” (UFK), a form of guarantee meant mainly for overseas raw‑material ventures. These guarantees would protect loans against economic and political default risk, with the German state stepping in to cover the majority of losses should a default occur.
The inquiry appears linked to a new gas partnership between Germany’s state‑owned company SEFE-Schwerpunkt Energie‑Forschungs‑Energie-and the Argentine firm Southern Energy. Both companies announced a supply agreement in December 2025. From the end of 2027, SEFE plans to purchase up to two million tonnes of LNG per year from South America, roughly one‑third of Germany’s current LNG imports.
The gas for this project is to be extracted from the Patagonian Vaca Muerta formation and transported via two floating terminals in the Gulf of San Matías. Because Argentina is considered economically unstable, a state guarantee could prove critical for the project’s viability. SEFE told “Der Spiegel” that the company itself has not made a guarantee request; instead, the credit institution is the one that must apply.
Whether the German state should guarantee investments in gas projects remains controversial. In 2023, the former economy minister Robert Habeck had directed that all such guarantees undergo a “climate test” to ensure that financed projects are aligned with the 1.5‑degree goal. The current administration intends to relax these guidelines, and a BMWi spokesperson said that the review is still in progress.