French oil major TotalEnergies will relocate its floating LNG storage and regasification unit currently stationed in northwest France, it said on Tuesday.
The FSRU, which has a capacity of 5 billion cubic metres, or 10% of French gas demand, was stationed at the port of Le Havre in 2023 at the French government's request as part of efforts to ensure enough LNG to meet demand after the loss of Russian gas supplies to Europe following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
"Now that gas supply conditions in France and Europe have stabilised ... the floating LNG terminal in Le Havre is no longer necessary, as evidenced by its lack of use and as observed by the Rouen administrative court in its decision of October 16," the statement reads.
The company declined to comment on the FSRU's next location.
Last year a French NGO, Association Ecologie pour Le Havre, petitioned France's energy minister to revoke the decree authorising the terminal's presence at the port, but received no response.
It then appealed to the Rouen court, which last month revoked the decree, finding that the emergency situation requiring extra gas import capacity no longer existed.
TotalEnergies said dismantling existing port installations would take about six months.
(Reuters)