Thanks to its rich composition in alkanes, including mainly methane, natural gas is one of the most used primary energy sources in the world. It is involved in the production of electricity, in the boiler room, in the carburetation of vehicles or in the chemical and petrochemical industry.

In France, natural gas represents The third primary energy source behind the nuclear And the petroleum with 15.2% of France's primary consumption. We are talking about a significant consumption of 502 TWh in higher calorific value. SirEnergies discusses the history of this key sector in the French energy sector.

The discovery of the Saint-Marcet natural deposit in 1939

Even if it is little known, this stage contributes significantly to decline in the use of city gas around the middle of the 1900s.

The reign of city gas

Since the beginning of the 1800s, gas obtained from the distillation of coal in a vacuum has been used to light certain homes and professional places in the cities of Lyon, Strasbourg, Lille and Paris. The gas nozzles installed in the streets also benefit.

In 1888, more than 12 million inhabitants in 550 French cities used lighting gas. Despite this considerable growth, players in the gas sector recognize the importance of geological prospecting for The discovery of natural gas which has twice the energy power of factory-produced gas.

An unexpected gas discovery

On July 14, 1939, the Saint-Marcet natural gas field was discovered following a geological exploration mission commissioned by the National Office of Liquid Fuels.

Initially, the objective of this survey was the discovery of oil, because, in 1921, the geologist Léon Bertrand had glimpsed the interesting potential of the Comminges subsoil. The latter must have had a significant volume of hydrocarbons, mainly oil, which was the fossil resource arousing the most interest at that time. It will be the Régie Autonome des Pétroles, specially created for this purpose, which will be in charge of the exploitation of the new reserve thus discovered.

It was only in 1949, with the commissioning of the Boussens degassing plant, that the proper exploitation of the Saint-Marcet field began. Gas pipelines to supply Pau and Toulouse were also built. This makes it possible to somewhat meet the energy needs of the South-West during this period of occupation. Until its exhaustion in 2009, this deposit allowed the production of 7 billion m³ of fossil gas.

The discovery of the Saint-Marcet natural gas field encourages the competent authorities to strengthen their geological exploration strategy in order to ensure France's energy independence.

In the meantime, we note the creation of the Société Nationale des Pétroles d'Aquitaine (SNPA) in 1941. She discovered in 1951 The Lacq deposit in Béarn, the most important reserve discovered to date on French territory. This series of discoveries gradually marked the end of the reign of manufactured gas produced in factories.

The discovery of Lacq gas, a decisive turning point

In 1948, geological studies conducted by the SNPA around Lacq made it possible to detect the presence of the anticline hidden under several layers of rock. In 1949, the authorities drilled a hole that gave access to Upper Lacq (an oil slick located 650 meters deep).

Here too, experts, who are more looking for oil, hope to find more oil by digging more, because often two oil fields are located in successive layers of the same anticline. Drilling therefore resumed in 1951 after the first oil field was exhausted.

On December 19, 1951, after reaching a depth of 3,550 meters, it was Natural gas that springs up against all odds. After securing the site from the threat associated with the spread of hydrogen sulphide, SNPA called on American experts to exploit the new natural gas field.

This approach proved unsuccessful and it was not until 1956 that a solution was found thanks to the Société des Baut Fourneaux, Forges et Aciéries de Pompey. The company is developing chromium steel that is resistant to corrosion to promote the installation of technical operating installations.

Thus, in 1957, France inaugurated what was to be at the time. The largest gas factory in Europe. 243 billion m³ of fossil gas will be extracted from this field. This discovery of Lacq gas brought a new wind to the French gas industry. The Lacq field stopped its gas production in 2013.

Restructuring the natural gas network

To optimize the distribution and consumption of natural gas throughout the country, the national transport infrastructure is being redesigned. At that time, there was no natural gas network in France as such. The only distribution networks were those for manufactured fuel gas.

From 1958, work began on the construction of the first fossil gas transport infrastructures (gas pipelines and pipes). They will be fully functional from the following year. We then distinguish two gas networks : a distribution network for the South-West and a network extending to other regions of the country.

The South West gas network

The first network is under the responsibility of the Société Nationale de Gaz du Sud-Ouest (SNGSO). It comes to develop and modernize the one that was already used to distribute gas in Saint-Marcet. Cities such as Pau, Bayonne, Bordeaux or Toulouse are thus served. In 1961, this network totalled 2,072 km of pipes.

The national gas network

The second network is under the responsibility of CeFEM (Compagnie Française du Métrane). It will make it possible to serve the regions of Lyon, Nantes and Paris as well as other cities with natural gas. In 1962, the CeFEM distribution network extended over nearly 3,000 km. The gas sector is developing rapidly, characterized by the clear desire of the competent authorities to: Make natural gas one of the main sources of energy of the country.

The use of imports to support local supply

In order to perpetuate the exploitation of Lacq, France wants to take advantage of the discoveries of fossil gas deposits that took place in Europe between 1950 and 1960. In 1959, the Netherlands discovered the Groningen deposit, which was ten times the size of that of Lacq.

In 1960, Norway discovered vast oil fields in the North Sea. Italy is also strengthening its natural gas production thanks to the discovery of the Conegliano, Correggio, Ravenna, Imola and Bordolano fields in the Po Valley.

The French State then developed long-term contracts to import the resource from these countries through its dedicated national public company, Gaz de France.

In 1976, the USSR was added to the list of exporting countries that supplied France with fossil gas. The majority of this resource is transported in the form of liquefied gas. To take advantage of the Hassi R'Mel deposit discovered in Algeria in 1956, LNG tankers were thus called upon to transport the compound. in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG) between 1965 and 1982.

Currently, France's major suppliers are Norway (36%), Russia (36%), Russia (17%), Russia (17%), Algeria, the Netherlands (8% each), Nigeria (7%) and Qatar (2%).

The liberalization of the gas market

In order to increase the interoperability of gas networks in the European Union, directives were introduced starting in the 2000s to specify responsibilities for production, The storage, the distribution and transport of fossil gas at the national level. The aim is to secure the supply of customers by promoting healthy competition from the players concerned in the sector.

In general, transport and distribution activities are closely regulated by the public authority in order to ensure equitable access for suppliers to the natural gas network.

As for production and supply, industrial competition is recommended for offer the best service to the consumer at the most accessible price possible. This also favors the connection of areas remote from the public network due to the appearance of new suppliers who are democratizing access to the resource everywhere in France thanks in particular to liquefied natural gas that is easily transportable.

Gaz de France (GDF), a key player in the national sector

On the proposal of the Minister of Industrial Production Marcel Paul, the law to nationalize the production, transport, distribution and supply of gas and electricity was voted by the National Assembly on 8 April 1946. This led to the creation of the company. Gaz de France. The latter initially managed the production and distribution of city gas until the discovery of the Lacq field in 1951.

From Gaz de France (GDF) to Engie

Between 1958 and 1960, she took care of the development of the natural gas network in France to allow households, industries and actors in the tertiary sector to benefit from the advantages of this fossil energy.

From 2003, Gaz de France must now focus mainly on managing the distribution of energy resources in accordance with European directives. Becoming a public limited company majority owned by the State in 2004, Gaz de France merged with the Suez group in 2008 to give birth to GDF Suez, a company that was mostly privatized.

It can now offer contracts for the supply of natural gas and green electricity to its customers. The last name change of the company took place in 2015. Her name is Engie since then.

The new main players in the French gas sector

Following the disappearance of Gaz de France, the South-West transport network (5,100 km of the network) is managed by Teréga, operator created in January 2005 under the name of TIGF. The rest of the transport network (32,000 km) is under the responsibility of GRTgaz, also created in 2005.

For its part, gas distribution is mainly controlled by Gas Distribution Network France (GRDF), created in 2008. Some local distribution companies (ELD) are also involved.

In competition with the historical supplier Engie, other players in the sector such as Eni, TotalEnergies, Butagaz, Dyneff, Gaz de Bordeaux, eKwateur or Mega Énergie also offer a variety of offers to meet the needs of individuals and professionals.

If necessary, SirEnergies offers advice based on its perfect mastery of the French fossil gas market to help you find a tailor-made and economical offer according to your needs and budgetary constraints.

Every week we publish an article dedicated to an energy supplier (gas or electricity), do not hesitate to consult them on the “Supplier” theme of our website.

To go further, do not hesitate to discover our article to understand everything about The history of electricity in France.