France: EDF's Dunkirk LNG Terminal to Start in 2015

French major EDF's chief executive Henri Proglio has confirmed that it will begin operations from the Dunkirk LNG terminal in France from 2015, Reuters has reported. 

The work will be enabled from a $1 billion final investment decision made by EDF into the project in June of last year. EDF is the major shareholder in the project with a 65 per cent stake. Belgian Fluxys G holds a 25 per cent stake while fellow French major Total holds the remaining ten per cent share. 

The project will have a total regasification capacity of between 10 and 13 billion cubic metres a year, meeting about one fifth of France's annual gas needs. 

The LNG terminal project is heavily backed by the French government, which holds an 84.5 per cent stake in majority shareholder EDF.

Last May, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced the LNG terminal for Dunkirk, saying it constitued a "major investment" for the area.