Buckinghamshire Council ends Gazprom contracts Ukraine war

The contracts of two crematoriums with the UK limited company – which was renamed SEFE Energy last year – finished on October 1, 2022, the Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A Council spokesperson said: “Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we urgently reviewed our energy contracts and sought to end any agreements that were in place with the company formerly called Gazprom.

“For the most part the council had no dealings with Gazprom, other than supplies for two crematoria. Those contracts ended more than a year ago.”

Apart from the crematoriums, the Council’s “corporate and investment estates” have not used Gazprom energy.

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The unitary authority spent a total of £208,391.64 on its energy contracts with Gazprom during the 2021/22 financial year – prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Following the invasion, contracts between Gazprom and several English councils came under scrutiny amid concerns that local authorities’ energy expenditure may have been funding the Russian war machine.

Shortly after the war in Ukraine began, Bucks Council Leader Martin Tett told the BBC: “We have a very small number of tiny contracts and a very, very small investment in our pension scheme and we’re going to look at how quickly we can get out of those.

“It’s really important we show solidarity with the people of Ukraine.”

SEFE Energy Limited is 100 per cent owned directly by SEFE Marketing & Trading Limited, which is 100 per cent owned directly by SEFE Securing Energy for Europe GmbH (“SEFE GmbH”).

Since November 14, 2022, SEFE GmbH and its subsidiaries have been owned by the Federal Republic of Germany, represented by the “BMWK” (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action).

SEFE Energy Ltd and its parent organisations now have no relationship or involvement in anything to do with the Russian organisation Gazprom.