France’s state-backed utility Engie has signed up for natural gas from Texas in the first US contract with a European buyer since Washington pledged to help the continent break its reliance on Russian gas. The 15-year deal with Houston-based NextDecade is a reversal for Engie. The utility suspended earlier talks with the exporter in November 2020 after the French government, a 24 per cent shareholder, had raised environmental concerns about the deal, people familiar with the matter said at the time.