Jera, EDF Hire LNG Chief

Jera Trading (Jerat) said October 19 it has recruited a new head of LNG from Shell and been assigned an 'A' credit rating with stable outlook by the Japanese rating agency R&I. 

Sarah Behbehani has joined Jerat as head of its prospective LNG business, due to go live next year. She was previously Head of LNG Trading, West for Shell, based in Dubai. In that role she managed LNG trading across India, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and South America. Behbehani grew up in Kuwait and holds an MBA from the London Business School, she has worked for Shell since 2010.

Jerat chairman Sunao Nakamura said: "She is a senior leader with over 20 years of international trading experience in LNG and oil. She will bring considerable knowledge and expertise to our new joint venture". Jerat was established April 2017 and is two-thirds owned by Japan's largest LNG importer, Jera, and one-third by French EDF subsidiary EDF Trading (EDFT). 

In July 2018, both signed binding agreements whereby Jera’s and EDFT’s LNG optimisation and trading activities will be merged into Jerat, due to complete in early 2019 at which point Jerat will be renamed 'Jera Global Markets'.

Ratings agency R&I cited its recent assignment of an 'A' rating as reflecting the creditworthiness of the entire Jera group, which is also rated 'A' with stable outlook, recognising that Jerat’s fuel procurement function is “extremely important for Jera’s business operations”.  It also reflects the financial profile of Jerat's shareholders, Jera and EDFT.  “This strong and stable rating confirms the strength of our business model and balance sheet," said Jerat managing director Ronan Lory.

Sarah Behbehani (Credit: EDFT)