Francaise de l'Energie plans IPO

Coalbed methane gas exploration firm Francaise de l'Energie (FdE), which says it has gas reserves worth six years of French national yearly gas consumption, said in a statement it plans an initial public offer (IPO) of its shares.

The firm did not detail how much money it hopes to raise or whether it would sell existing shares or raise new capital. The company is owned mainly by private investors, some of which have also invested in French energy exploration and production company Maurel & Prom

FdE has no revenue at the moment but said it will have revenue following the completion of its takeover of Gazonor, which had 2014-15 revenue of 4.5 million euros.

The company wants to have 15 production sites by 2018 in northeastern France and hopes to produce more than 700 million cubic metres of gas over a 12-year period starting in 2018.

The company said it also wants to develop activities in Belgium and Germany.

Unlike shale gas, coalbed methane does not always require fracking, which was banned in France in 2011 on concerns the drilling technique could pollute groundwater and trigger earthquakes.

FdE said the coalbed methane will be captured without the injection of chemical products, extracting the gas using a low pressure differential and existing fractures in the coal.

Reporting by Geert De Clercq