Download PDF version English (3237KB) - Hamon

Part 1 - General presentation of the Group
15
This pressure is due to increasing competition exerted by
Asian engineering companies (especially Korean).
Regarding power plants, we can mention the following:
■ The decline of the nuclear industry in the developed
countries (following the Fukushima accident in early
2011) is confirmed, with for example, supplementary
security measures which should be adopted by many
operators in Europe, thus resulting in additional costs.
On the other hand, projects are still underway in some
countries (China, India, Turkey… ), as well as the
construction of the Vogtle Plant in the United States.
■ The increasingly important role of gas-fired power
plants (combined cycle or simple cycle) is confirmed.
This is due among other factors to the abundance of
shale gas in the United States, which has had the
effect of causing a drastic drop in gas prices in this
country, and to lead to the conversion of some coal-fired
plants to gas.
■ However, coal remains a very important primary energy
source (by far the first on a world scale), not only in
countries like China and India, but also in Europe,
where several coal-fired plants are under construction.
The increased exportation of U.S. coal has also had the
effect of lowering coal prices in some countries.
■ Finally, the development of renewable energy (including
photovoltaics) continues, despite budgetary problems
in many developed countries and the reduction of
subsidies and financial aid to this sector.
Finally, note that the average exchange rate of the U.S.
dollar appreciated from 1,35 USD / EUR in 2011 to
1,30 USD / EUR in 2012. This increase in the value of
the dollar against the Euro has resulted in an increase
of figures in USD when converted into Euros.
Within the oil sector, demand remains strong, drawn
amongst other influences by increasingly large
consumption for transportation in emerging countries
such as China. The price per barrel of crude oil fluctuated
significantly in 2012, but overall the price remained at
a comparable level between the beginning and the end
of 2012 (about 110 USD per barrel of Brent). Overall,
investment in the construction or renovation of refineries
and other oil facilities continues. They are sited increasingly
in Asian countries, while the developed countries
have an increasing overcapacity of refining.
Geographically, we see that Europe suffers from the
financial and budgetary crisis, which penalizes investment.
Investments should restart in the United States, thanks to
economic recovery in the context of a clearer regulatory
regime and the end of the pre-election period.
At the level of the cost of raw materials used such as
steel, plastic, aluminum (and therefore the unit price per
cooling system, air pollution control system, heat
exchanger… ) we see that these costs have fluctuated
in 2012, with a significant mid-year trough, but their
average levels remained relatively comparable between
the beginning and the end of the year.