Williamstown, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/30/2012 -- BMI View: Subdued oil demand growth means the prospects for refiners and fuels distributors - already facing strong competition and struggling to maintain investment - are not good. The gas market has greater potential, both in terms of rising domestic demand and the scope to re-sell surplus LNG through regional pipeline links. Recent refinery closures point to a tighter and more volatile domestic fuels market.

The main trends and developments we highlight in the French Oil and Gas sector are:

- LyondellBasell has initiated a programme to mothball its Berre refinery in south-eastern France, reports Reuters, citing a company spokesperson. The refinery has a capacity of 105,000b/d. The operator will continue to seek a buyer for the plant. Three companies have apparently shown interest in buying the French Petit-Couronne refinery owned by troubled Swiss group Petroplus, a senior union representative told Reuters in February 2012. The plant was put under judicial protection in January 2012. It will take two to two and a half months before the refinery can be restarted, he said.
- France-focused explorer Toreador Resources and US independent Hess won approval from the French energy ministry in June 2010 for an oil shale joint venture (JV) in the Paris Basin. However, environmental concerns over hydraulic fracturing (fraccing), the controversial drilling method used to tap reserves locked in tight shale rock formations, have scuttled these hopes. Fraccing was banned in France in mid-2011and this policy seems unlikely to be reversed in the immediate future.
- Gas demand is expected to rise more quickly than oil demand, with new sources of supply being lined up by GdF Suez, which has signed import agreements with Egypt in addition to those already signed with Russia, Norway, Algeria and the Netherlands. Gas consumption is likely to reach 51.8bn cubic metres (bcm) in 2016. Gas production is negligible, so imports could rise significantly to a high of around 51.2bcm by the end of the five-year forecast period.
- In May 2011, EdF and Total confirmed that they would proceed with the US$2.2bn Nord-Pas-de- Calais Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project at Dunkirk, which is expected to add between 10bcm and 13bcm of import capacity when it comes onstream. Furthermore, there are plans to expand capacity at the Montoir-de-Bretagne terminal to 16.5bcm by 2014.
- Thanks to improved energy efficiency and efforts to reduce oil dependency, oil demand is now expected to remain mostly flat over the coming decade. Our assumptions point to oil consumption reaching 1.89mn barrels per day (b/d) by 2016. Crude oil imports are expected to have reached 1.88mn b/d by 2016.

View Full Report Details and Table of Contents

About Fast Market Research
Fast Market Research is an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. Representing the world's top research publishers and analysts, we provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available. Our unbiased, expert staff will help you find the right research to fit your requirements and your budget. For more information about these or related research reports, please visit our website at http://www.fastmr.com or call us at 1.800.844.8156.

Browse all Energy research reports at Fast Market Research

You may also be interested in these related reports:

- Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Operations and Cost Analysis - Q2, 2011
- PetroSands Resources (Canada) Inc. Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Operations and Cost Analysis - Q2, 2011
- Apco Oil & Gas International Inc. Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Operations and Cost Analysis - Q2, 2011
- Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd. Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Operations and Cost Analysis - Q2, 2010
- Imperial Oil Limited Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Operations and Cost Analysis - Q2, 2011
- Yangarra Resources Ltd. Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Operations and Cost Analysis - Q2, 2011
- Iteration Energy Ltd. Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Operations and Cost Analysis - Q2, 2010
- Wild Stream Exploration Inc. Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Operations and Cost Analysis - Q2, 2010
- Bronco Energy Ltd. Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Operations and Cost Analysis - Q2, 2010
- Open Range Energy Corp. Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Operations and Cost Analysis - Q2, 2011