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Leading French liquefied natural gas (LNG) player and LNG bunker supplier, Engie, is mulling over the future of its LNG business, according to a member of the union Confederation generale du travail (CGT).

Earlier this year, French newsletter La Lettre de l'Expansion reported that Engie plans to sell 15 to 20 billion euros worth of assets between 2016 and 2018, including exploration and production assets, coal-fired power plants and infrastructure assets as the businesses have been affected by low energy prices.

Yves Ledoux, CGT central coordinator at Engie, told Reuters this week that "management is thinking about the future of LNG," adding that the union expected a reorganization and possibly a sale.

Engie's Global Energy Management and LNG division posted a loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of 39 million euros for the first six months of this year, whilst turnover declined by 47 percent as the company's performance was hit by lower oil and gas prices and decreasing gas sales volumes.

On Monday, France's L'Expansion reported that Engie planned to reduce its workforce by around 1,150, including 600 jobs at its call centres, 250 sales positions, 200 IT jobs and around 100 trading division positions.

This week's claims come less than a fortnight after the launch of Gas4Sea, a new LNG bunkering business set up by Engie, Mitsubishi Corporation and NYK Line.

The partners are due to begin operations in the fourth quarter of 2016 using a purpose-built LNG bunkering vessel with a 5,000-cubic-metre capacity. The vessel will be used to carry out ship-to-ship LNG fuel deliveries in the Belgian port of Zeebrugge as well as other nearby locations.

In a statement on 7th September, the project partners explained how they would combine "NYK's shipping expertise with Engie and Mitsubishi Corporation's LNG supply portfolio and terminal access under the brand Gas4Sea".

Also on 7th September, Philip Olivier, CEO of ENGIE Global LNG, said: "In the general framework of energy transition, we believe LNG has a key role to play in developing a more sustainable shipping activity. In the coming months, we will start supplying United European Car Carriers' new dual-fuel car carriers operating in the North Sea and Baltic Sea."