Shell prepares for fresh union talks as Moerdijk turnaround delays continue

LONDON (ICIS)–Shell is to meet with Dutch unions for fresh talks on Thursday as a long-planned turnaround process at the company’s Moerdijk complex in The Netherlands continues to be dogged by delays amid a pay dispute with employees at the site.

Source: Shell

Work to bring down the cracker at the site, the Moerdijk lower olefins (MLO) unit, began late last week, behind the planned schedule for the turnaround to begin.

Work to bring the unit down continues, but has been slowed considerably by employee refusal to work overtime during the strike.

According to trade union FNV, Shell initiated legal proceedings against it in a bid to compel employees to work overtime at the site, in summary proceedings that were overturned by the judge hearing the case.

A Shell spokesperson said that the reason for launching the summary proceedings was that unions had threatened to stop the Moerdijk cracker turnaround.

“We are happy that the unions are now shutting down the MLO, albeit within the regular schedule without overtime required in such TAs [turnarounds],” the spokesperson said.

“So, we feel we have not lost [the legal proceedings]. The TA will take place, even if this process is delayed. The talks with the unions [on 23 April] were of such nature that we will continue talks on Thursday,” it added.

Industrial action remains focused on slowing the turnaround at Moerdijk and keeping the company’s nearby Pernis refinery operating at 65% capacity, FNV said.

Shell estimated the cost of the first nine days of the action at €14.5m according to FNV, citing documents released during the summary proceedings, with the strike now in its 17th day.

The company did not comment directly on the financial impact of the industrial action.

The company did not state whether the Moerdijk cracker has been fully brought down at this point, or if it has revised the schedule for the works in light of the late start and slow progress.

The turnaround had been expected to begin on 16 April and last until 21 June.

Shell’s Moerdijk site processes naphtha, liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) and gas oil, which are used to produce basic chemicals like ethylene, butadiene (BD), propylene, ethylene oxide (EO), ethylene glycols (EG), propylene oxide (PO) and styrene monomer (SM).

Set up in the 1970s, the site is one of the largest in the Netherlands. It employs over 800 workers.