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Engie backs out of proposed

US LNG deal

FRANCE FRENCH utility Engie has abandoned talks The news prompted criticism from US poli-
with US-based NextDecade over a proposed ticians, including North Dakota Senator Kevin
The government LNG supply deal involving gas from the planned Cramer, who sent a letter to French President
banned domestic Rio Grande LNG terminal in South Texas. This Emmanuel Macron arguing that importing US
fracking in 2011. comes after NewsBase reported last week that LNG would result in lower emissions than buy-
Engie had delayed signing a deal with NextDec- ing the fuel from Russia.
ade following pressure from the French govern- Indeed, NextDecade has been trying to
ment – which has a 23.6% stake in the utility – to position itself as a future low-emissions – or
seek cleaner supplies instead. even no-emissions – provider of LNG. The
The French government banned domes- company redesigned its Rio Grande facility
tic hydraulic fracturing in 2011 and has since this year, and announced last month that it
expressed misgivings over importing gas that could reduce emissions from the project by
is produced using the technique. And such gas, around 90% using carbon capture and storage
produced from shale formations and involving (CCS) and proprietary processes. The com-
the use of fracking, is what US LNG export ter- pany says it is continuing to work on address-
minals are using for feedstock. ing the remaining 10%, with an eventual aim
NextDecade, which is seeking offtake agree- of carbon neutrality.
ments to underpin its proposed Rio Grande However, Engie’s exit from talks over a supply
LNG export terminal, was initially reported to deal comes as a blow, given that NextDecade is
be continuing to pursue a deal. However, Engie trying to secure offtake agreements for an addi-
confirmed to media this week that it had aban- tional 9mn tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG in order
doned talks over the deal. France’s Le Monde to reach a final investment decision (FID). This
newspaper attributed this to the deal being at is in addition to the 2mn tpy deal the company
odds with Engie’s energy transition strategy. already has for Rio Grande. ™

Week 44 12•November•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P11