Volume 1, issue #2 - Wednesday, December 18, 1996

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Gaz de France plans FF. 5 bn investment in 1997

Dec. 11, 1996 State-owned Gaz de France plans to spend billions of francs upgrading its infrastructure to meet demand growing at an estimated 3 % a year. Gaz de France will have spent FF 4.5 bn ($ 862.4 mm) on transport and distribution in 1996 and will spend FF. 5 bn in 1997 with a 10 percent growth rate for many more years to come. France, due to its geographic position, transits gas from Norway to Spain -- 2 bncm this year, rising to 2.6 billion in 1997. The ``Artere du Midi'' pipeline, a FF. 1 bn investment for Gaz de France, links Marseille to Toulouse for the transport of gas from Algeria to the south-west of France. The link will also help to transport gas to Spain. In France gas has a 13 % share in the market for energy products, against fuel and electricity, while the average for Europe is 20 percent. Demand is expected to grow by 3 % per year, or 1 bncm. For this, the company has two other infrastructure projects, one to land gas from Norway and another for Dutch gas. In 1997 the company will also start an experiment with an undisclosed town for buses and municipality vehicles to run on natural gas to help cut pollution.