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Discovery of the Lacq (64 Pyrénées Atlantiques) gas reservoir:
Drillers working for the French National Society of Aquitaine Oils (SNPA) were looking for oil and discovered gas at a depth of 3,450 m. Producing it was to prove a real challenge…
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Begining of gas production in the Béarn:
the industrial adventure begins! The Lacq gas processing plant was opened in April. It had a processing capacity of 1 million cubic meters per day. It was increased in stages to reach 33 million in 1975.
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Inauguration of Mourenx the first new town in France. It was created entirely out of virgin land 5km from the gas site to house the workers and their families. The housing area was built using audacious architectural features reminiscent of the post-war boom...
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Birth of the Béarn region industrial management company, SOBEGI:
while in the local press, Lacq was dubbed “the French Texas”, a real production complex was constructed in Mourenx around a chemical industry hungry for gas or its derivatives. Since 2020, the SOBEGI manages the industrial platforms in Mourenx and Lacq.
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Creation of the Lacq Research Group GRL:
This economic interest group was shared between Arkema and Total Petrochemicals France in 2004. Established in 1959, the part now owned by the Company is the Platform for Experimental Research in Lacq (PERL) linked to the CSTJF/R&D department.
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Inauguration of the CSTJF:
The center for research and leading expertise built to the north of Pau, bears the name of one of the engineers who discovered the Lacq gas reservoir. The 27-hectare site is now has 5,000 m² of laboratory space and 30,000 m² of office space for 2,900 employees of 65 different nationalities.