By Benjamin Mallet and Emmanuel Jarry
PARIS, Jan 22 (Reuters) - France could build two new nuclear power stations or share the work on the one already planned between government-backed utilities EDF (EDF.PA) and Suez-GDF.
An official at the Elysee presidential palace said on Thursday that a decision on at least one new European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) nuclear power plant would be taken in the next few weeks.
He said the office was reviewing the location of the reactor and a possible joint investment by the two utilities.
Les Echos newspaper said on Thursday the government is considering two new reactors and would award one to EDF and the other to Suez-GDF, which would then team up with Germany's E.ON (EONGn.DE).
France has a leading position in the world for nuclear power stations. Both utilities, in which the state has a stake, could obtain big export orders if the EPRs are a success.
Big construction projects are also a way to create jobs.
The recent crisis over Russian gas supplies via Ukraine has highlighted the strategic importance of energy independence and France now generates about 15 percent of its total energy needs and 80 percent of electricity with nuclear plants.
State-owned electricity giant EDF (EDF.PA) is already building an EPR in the north of France, near Flamanville, which will have a capacity of 1,600 Megawatts. It will now cost 4 billions euros ($5.20 billion), at 2008 euros, after a upward revision of the 3.3 billion euro initial budget.
The government already has plans to order a second EPR for Flamanville. EDF and GDF Suez are contenders for that contract. Le Figaro said on its website that French oil company Total (TOTF.PA) would be part of the GDF Suez (GSZ.PA) bid.
A spokesman for Total did not confirm or deny the report, but said any role the oil major took would be a minority one. Total and GDF Suez are co-operating with state-controlled nuclear reactor builder Areva (CEPFi.PA) to offer two plants to the United Arab Emirates.
Areva is building an EPR in Finland and is facing cost-overruns and delays due to the complexity of the new type of station.
EDF had planned to team up with big electricity users such as building materials group Saint-Gobain (SGOB.PA) and steel group ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS).
EDF bought almost all of British Energy (BGY.L) and assets from Constellation Energy (CEG.N) to be able to build nuclear stations in Britain and the United States.
EDF said that a $5 billion bond issue, designed in part to refinance its purchase of British Energy (BGY.L), had been oversubscribed, especially in the United States.
EDF stock ended flat on Thursday.
For a background story on the French EPR see[ID:nLC424054] (Additional reporting by Jean-Michel Belot)
