From now on, the Engie group (formerly GDF Suez) prefers to redouble its discretion when signing a contract to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States. In the fall of 2020, the company had to give up a megaproject with the company NextDecade, under pressure from the French state and environmental organizations. The latter warned against a method banned in France since 2011: hydraulic fracturing to exploit shale gas, unconventional gas.
Shortly afterwards, Engie finally succeeded in concluding a gas import contract, in this case with the American company Cheniere Energy. The supply began in September 2021 and should stretch until 2032, it is indicated in the working documents drawn up by Engie before the contract. According to these confidential elements, obtained by the association Les Amis de la Terre, the LNG carriers leave from the Corpus Christi terminal (Texas), destined in particular for France (Montoir-de-Bretagne) and Spain. (Barcelona). Deliveries have been planned in two installments: one between 2021 and December 2025, the other between October 2023 and September 2032.
According to our information, this new purchase contract was directly validated by the executive committee by the group’s management. In other words, without going through the Board of Directors of Engie, where the State, the main shareholder (23.6% of the shares), is represented. Conversely, the company had planned to present its project with NextDecade to the administrators, before removing it from the agenda.
The government confirms that it was not informed, at this level of governance, of the contract sealed with Cheniere Energy. “It is an internal decision of the company”, notes the Ministry of Ecological Transition. “This contract represents 2% of the projected volumes of gas served by Engie by 2030, says the French company. The usual internal group rules for approving a contract of this limited size were obviously followed. “ The internal regulations of the board of directors provide that the prior authorization of the directors is only required for a long-term gas contract equivalent to 30 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year. “Which is not the case with this operation”, ensures Engie.
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According to the preparatory documents, it is planned to import the equivalent of 12.3 billion kWh per year for the first tranche and 5.6 billion for the second. The total amount of the transaction is then estimated at 1.896 billion dollars (1.67 billion euros). Engie refuses to confirm whether these are the figures retained in the final contract, just as it remains elusive on the proportion of shale gas in these LNG imports. Figures for 2020 from the US Energy Information Agency show that this unconventional hydrocarbon accounts for 79% of gas production in the United States.
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