Suez is one of the largest Europeans energy companies in the field of the electricity, gas and water supply, the transportation and sales of natural and liquefied gas operating in North America. The company is at the stage of a merger. There French government has a controlling stake in Gaz de France (GdF). The government is going to decrease its stake in the national gas company within the framework of liberalization.
At the beginning of 2006, the Italian company Enel declared the wish to buy Suez – Gaz de France. The reaction was the declaration of a merger of Suez and GdF by exchange of shares. Access to assets of Suez – Gaz de France is an “absolutely innovative approach” about which both sides talked during the signing of an agreement on the Shtokman gas field.
Suez-GdF is of interest to Gazprom from a perspective of a production sharing agreement, as the French company owns regasification terminals in Everett, US, and Seebrugge, Belgium, and of access to electric energy assets that the company has in France and Belgium. (itar-tass.com)



