OREANDA-NEWS. As an international LNG market leader and Europe's largest LNG importer, GDF SUEZ recently established LNGeneration, a subsidiary to provide LNG throughout France. By offering a comprehensive, secure solution for LNG transportation, storage, supply, and regasification, LNGeneration promotes access to natural gas for industrial customers without connections to gas distribution networks. The advantage for such sites that are far removed from natural gas distribution networks is strengthened by reliance on a leading, standard-setting energy supplier that provides reliable supplies from a new energy source that is competitively priced and an environmentally friendly alternative to heavy fuel oils and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Today, LNGeneration offers customers a dependable turnkey product: LNG delivered by tank truck from an LNG terminal to the consumption site, the construction and maintenance of a storage and regasification facility at the industrial site, and sale of natural gas to the end-user. LNGeneration also provides logistics management services as well as round-the-clock equipment repair and maintenance services.

LNGeneration provides fixed price services for up to five years, or prices that are indexed to the market price of energy products and based on the expertise of GDF SUEZ Trading, an international market player active on the European, Asian, and American markets. The firm distinguishes itself further by assuming operating responsibility as well as the facility's regulatory compliance assurance for the contract's life.

LNG is a competitive energy source offering significant environmental advantages. Based on the site (consumption, distance from the LNG terminal), LNG industrial companies can save between 5% and 25% compared to the price of traditional petroleum products. In terms of greenhouse gases, LNG produces 20% fewer CO2 emissions than are produced by heavy fuel oil, 95% less sulfur, 90% less nitrogen oxide, and 95% less particulate content1.

LNGeneration's goal is to become France's leader in this growing market, estimated today at 30 TWh, compared with the 500 TWh/year nationwide consumption of natural gas. The company's expertise enables it to design optimum facilities (in terms of size, accessibility, safety, etc.) that are custom-tailored to industrial customer specifications. The company is supported by the strength and skills of GDF SUEZ with its significant operating experience that dates back in the United States to 1971 where over 300,000 LNG tank trucks have been loaded at the Everett, Massachusetts terminal, as well as France's largest commercial natural gas sales network. In addition, in 2012 the Group also launched a comprehensive solution based on supplying LNG for the Dutch transport market. The objective of GDF SUEZ LNG Solutions B.V. is to help land and maritime transport companies in the Netherlands to transition from diesel fuel to LNG and make a sustainable contribution to the transport sector by proposing LNG for truck and maritime transport in the Netherlands and by investing in supply facilities. These various offerings illustrate the attractive prospects opening up in Europe and the world for new uses of LNG.

With LNGeneration, GDF SUEZ is accelerating its development in France for new uses of liquefied natural gas to benefit the competitiveness of French industrial companies. The Group is able to guarantee security of supply to its customers thanks to its LNG portfolio of 16 million metric tons per annum derived from six different countries, a fleet of 17 LNG tankers, and a significant presence in world regasification terminals.