Grtgaz by East Coast Promotions

COMPANY PROFILE

2014

GRTgaz

+33 1 55 66 40 00 | www.grtgaz.com

Leading natural gas transmission Editorial: Tim Hands

Owner and operator of the longest highpressure transmission network in Europe, GRTgaz provides, both in Europe and across the world, assessment and consulting services in the field of gas transmission. A policy of innovation alongside ensuring the safety, cost and reliability of the natural gas it transports is driving GRTgaz’s ambition to become the European operator of choice, and France the leading gas hub in Europe.

GRTgaz is a French société anonyme, of which 75% is owned by GDF SUEZ, and the remaining

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25% by Société d’Infrastructures Gaziéres, a public consortium comprising CNP Assurances,

CDC Infrastructure and Caisse de Dépots. Its network naturally places the company at the heart of Europe, with France’s coastlines ideally placed to take receipt of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) which is imported from the Persian Gulf states and the Mediterranean and Atlantic basins. The GRTgaz network is interconnected too with those of Germany, Belgium and Switzerland, while the TIGF network serving the south-west of France is also connected with Spain. This outstanding level of interconnectivity not only makes GRTgaz a major national player in the sector, but also gives it the all-important potential for growth, having cultivated a network able to reach the majority of the key European markets.

GRTgaz With security of supply an issue that looms larger than ever in the present day, the transmission networks have a vital role to play in facilitating access to diversified supply sources, and continue to allow France to reach its full supply potential. GRTgaz stresses the importance of responsible, socially aware management alongside a drive for long-term progress, striving always for exemplary conduct with regard to economic, environmental and social issues, as well as ensuring a positive relationship with the areas its network crosses via ongoing dialogue with stakeholders.

BIOMETHANE February of this year saw GRTgaz and SMET71 (Syndicat Mixte d’Etudes et de Traitement des déchets ménagers et assimilés du nord-est de la Saône-etLoire - Joint Organisation for the Study and Treatment of household waste and related materials of the North West Saône-et-Loire) sign the first contract to connect a biomethane producer to the gas transmission network. For

some time now GRTgaz has provided project sponsors and biomethane producers with a tool called Réso’Vert, an interactive map which can rapidly display the potential for injection into the transmission network. SMET71, meanwhile, which processes the household waste of 317 municipalities in the eastern Saône-et-Loire, decided to invest in its own state-of-the-art waste processing plant (ECOCEA), which will go on to produce both biomethane and compost for the many crops in the region. The Chagny methanisation unit will process 73,000 tons of waste every year, with the gas produced to be purified and have the same properties as natural gas, allowing it to be used by the neighbouring municipalities and industrial processes. This will, as of 2015, inject approximately 18 GWh of biomethane into the transmission network every year, a figure which caters for the average annual consumption of 2,800 residents. Biomethane creates what GRTgaz describes as a ‘virtuous

circle’, due to the possibility of processing waste while producing carbon-free, local, renewable energy. It holds great potential in the development of energy sources – research in 2013 showed that the volume of biomethane that could be injected into natural gas transmission networks by 2020 could equate to between three and six TWh.

PEOPLE POWER In 2010 GRTgaz implemented the ELAN Pro mechanism, known as a “career accelerator”, designed to act as a form of social ladder and help the accession of its most talented employees to manager status. The process, aimed at detecting competencies within its staff, has been built and deployed alongside HR consultancy Hudson, who have in turn trained eight GRTgaz HR representatives to work with its Assessment Center, a unique technique built to measure employees’ skills. It has proved exceptionally profitable since its launch in late 2010, with 20 of the 37 employees assessed now

having managerial status. The Assessment Center gives employees the maximum possible chance of succeeding in their professional development, enabling individuals to not only become aware of their strengths, but to target those areas where improvement is required, and receive specific advice on how to advance in a given field. Alexandra Apostolescu, Manager of Skills Development Operations at Hudson, underlines the benefits on offer through implementation of its tool: “The Assessment Center is nondiscriminatory. It is a powerful resource for recognising the talents and potential of everyone, regardless of their level of education or their position in the organisation.” It is within the interests both of the enterprise and the individual to fully exploit any development potential - an employee’s promotion to manager expands the scope of responsibility and skills to bolster future employability, while the company sees a huge boost in the diversity of its managerial profiles and considerable development of the assessment competencies of the HR staff hitherto untapped. The partnership between The Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre (FFRandonnée) - France’s hiking federation - and GRTgaz has been widely described as a trailblazing, innovating relationship, and is one that will both parties will pursue over at least the next three years. The two have, since 2010, worked tirelessly to raise hikers’ awareness around the many national treasures the country holds, and now, determined to strengthen their collaboration and innovate together in the field, will put the weight of their collective expertise towards bringing forward the federation’s IT initiative. This is to be achieved by facilitating easier management of the FFRandonnée-

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approved trail network, and include the hiking community in the monitoring of and collecting data, both on footpaths and of environmental conditions. The federation has a long-standing desire to help the 36 million hikers in France get out on the trails, and this will be achieved in part with the

“we are preparing the organisation for taking on even more extensive and larger tasks in the future” ground-breaking interactive tools it will be releasing, among them four Randomobile® smartphone apps created by FFRandonnée in close cooperation with both GRTgaz and the Fédération des Parc Naturels Régionaux (French federation of regional parks). Both GRTgaz and FFRandonnée are fully aware of the vital need to continue to promote understanding of the environment and the preservation of biodiversity, and through co-authorship of a hiker’s charter have taken critical steps to ensuring trail safety and responsible hiking.

AUGMENTED REALITY A major focus of GRTgaz’s innovation is its ambitions geared toward augmented reality, as detailed in its presentation as part of April’s Laval Virtual Conference. As the manager of one of Europe’s largest gas transmission networks, GRTgaz hopes to use this technology to enhance the operation and performance of its industrial facilities, an application which helps GRTgaz employees to complete complex maintenance works and operate the gas transmission network. The success of the prototype, both in terms of reliability and speed of execution, has led GRTgaz to expand the scope of augmented reality to the maintenance of the 4,500 substations forming its network, and promote the creation of a leading French technology sector alongside those gathered at the Conference. The announcement by Powernext of planned 24/7 trading on the French PEG Spot Markets has been welcomed by the GRTgaz, with Olivier Edmont, Head of the GRTgaz gas system division, delineating the benefits this will bring; “We are very satisfied with Powernext extending its opening hours to 24/7, as it will help GRTgaz and its customers to fulfil the Balancing Network Code requirements, performing balancing activities later during the day and over the weekend. This will also increase the activity on the French hubs and thereby secure the whole gas system.” With natural gas consumption in the European Union at around 510 billion m3 (Gm3) in 2010, a return to levels nearly as high as those seen before the financial crisis through these developments in securing supply are more welcome than ever in order to meet a demand that will, according to the International Energy Agency, exceed 630 Gm3 by 2035

GRTgaz

The international Pipeline Contractor for Landmark Projects

Port of Ngqura

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