Mr Mestrallet said in an interview with Le Figaro newspaper that the purchasing power of the combined business would help assuage western Europe’s fears over supply dependency. He said that these countries were facing a worrying situation with regards to hydrocarbon producing countries.
Mr Mestrallet added that, with a 20% share likely of Europe’s energy market, Suez-GDF would then increase its capacity to offset a possible failure of supply.
He told the newspaper that one way this might be achieved would be by becoming a global leader in LNG supply.
Political opposition in France to the deal means that a successful tie-up between the two remains far from assured, the AFX news agency reports.
