About

Photo : Gastech, Houston – © Jean Heintz 2024

Jean-Christian Heintz (aka Jean or “JC”) boasts both a 25-year Natural Gas & LNG career and a 30-year leadership experience forged in the mountains. He graduated Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Etienne in 1996, has visited 57 countries, and speaks French, English, German, Portuguese and Italian.

From 1998 to 2008, he worked in the gas transportation industry, first as a safety engineer, then as a grid designer and finally as a natural gas originator and structurer, all within Gaz de France.

From 2009 to 2012, he held several roles within the LNG business unit of GDF Suez, soon to be renamed Engie. As a trader, he made a number of firsts, such as the company’s first spot cargos to Turkey and China. Later, he became in charge of Engie’s long term LNG supply with Algeria’s Sonatrach.

From 2013 to 2017, he served as Head of LNG at DufEnergy Trading in Lugano, Switzerland. Creating the desk from scratch, he successfully placed the company on the global LNG map with milestone deals, starting in Italy where he originated the first Qatari spot cargo, the first Peruvian cargo, and the first US cargo. He also developed the company’s Gas & LNG activities in the Iberian peninsula.

In 2017 and 2018, as a full-time independent consultant with Wideangle LNG, he gained top tier customers in Switzerland, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Mexico and Singapore.

In 2019, he helped SCB Brokers launch their LNG derivatives (JKM) activity in Geneva and London.

From 2020 to 2022 he was appointed as Head of LNG by Alpiq AG, a Swiss-based Power producer. He managed a fast-track entry into physical LNG trading – despite the pandemic.

Since 2020, Jean-Christian is member of Gastech Governing Body, and participates to the selection of papers for the world’s most famous Gas & LNG conference.

As of 2025, JC has given more than 80 days of training, advised more than 35 companies and spoke at more than 15 conferences and events worldwide.

On LinkedIn, Jean’s LNG Espresso is a weekly social media rendez vous followed by an ever growing LNG community. Highlights of the LNG industry and market sentiment are shared in a concise and comprehensive way, so that they can be read in less time than what’s needed to sip an espresso cup !