Global commodities trader Gunvor Group Ltd. has secured a 400 million euro loan ($437 million) backed by the Italian government to buy more natural gas and LNG for industrial consumers in the country.
The five-year term loan guaranteed by Italy’s export credit agency, Sace SpA, is aimed at supporting Italian industry with energy supplies to fuel production of Italy’s goods and services for consumption abroad.
The loan is another in a series backed by governments across the world to help fund natural gas and liquefied natural gas purchases after energy flows were upended last year when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Sace’s Ciro Aquino, regional manager of the Middle East, said the goal of the Gunvor loan is to “improve the resilience of [Italy’s] economic landscape, relaunch the competitiveness of companies in global markets and consolidate growth within domestic markets.”
Europe has been working to build out infrastructure to import more LNG and diversify its gas supplies to replace those cut off by Russia. Europe’s gas buyers also have increasingly stepped up for long-term LNG supplies, but the continent is also leaning heavily on portfolio players and trading houses, which have been busy lining up additional supplies for the region.
Gunvor renewed its syndicated borrowing base earlier this year that was launched to support LNG trading activities as volatility in the global gas market has led to massive margin calls since last year.
Another commodities trader, Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd., landed funds with the support of the German and Italian governments earlier this year to deliver natural gas and metals, including a $3 billion loan backed by Germany.
Trafigura also secured a $400 million credit line insured by the U.S. Export-Import Bank in October to move more LNG into Europe.
