Total halts output at La Mede refinery due to crude shortages

11 October 2010 16:24  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--Total has been forced to begin a production shutdown at its refinery at La Mede in southern France due to constraints on crude supplies caused by striking workers, the energy group said on Monday.

The rolling strike at the Fos-Lavera oil terminal in southern France cut crude supplies to such an extent that Total’s rate of production at the refinery had been running at reduced levels before the group halted processing on 10 October.

“We have started to stop processing crude oil at La Mede on Sunday morning as expected,” said Total spokesman Michael Crochet-Vourey.

He added that it would take a few days for production to completely stop.

Protests at the Fos-Lavera oil terminal in southern France have blocked shipping traffic from entering or leaving the port, and there is uncertainty about how long the shipments will be delayed.

Supply constraints have caused production issues for the three other neighbouring refineries, including INEOS's plant at Lavera, ExxonMobil’s Fos-sur-Mer plant and LyondellBasell’s Berre L'Etang refinery, as well as two other refineries in the north of France that receive crude deliveries through a pipeline from the Fos-Lavera terminal: Total’s Feyzin plant and Petroplus’s Reichstett refinery.

Crochet-Vourey said Total’s refinery in Feyzin had not halted production but was still running at reduced rates.

French union CGT had called for all 12 refineries in France to join a national strike on 12 October in protest over the government’s pension reforms, which plan to increase the retirement age to 62 from 60.

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By: Franco Capaldo
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