France's Refineries Wrestle with Nationwide Strikes

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--France has been rocked by protests over the past few weeks, much of it driven by President Emmanuel Macron's proposed overhaul of the nation's pension system. Unions representing workers ranging from garbage collectors to railway ticket-takers are planning for rolling strikes, and those in the Petroleum Refining Industry are not sitting it out. A coalition of labor unions is calling for a nationwide day of strikes on April 6.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing ongoing offline events for crude oil units across France.

Here are some of the latest developments:

• Petroineos France SAS (Martigues, France) is restarting operations at its 218,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) Lavera Refinery near Marseille, following a shutdown on March 20. Full operation is expected by April 5. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Petroleum Refining Plant Database can read a detailed plant profile.
• Total Refining & Chemicals, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies (NYSE:TTE) (Courbevoie, France) is maintaining the plantwide shutdown of its 205,000-BBL/d Gonfreville Refinery in Haute-Normandie following a strike that began in mid-March. Management acknowledged the earliest possible restart date is now April 11. Subscribers can read a detailed plant profile.
• Total Refining & Chemicals is operating its 117,000-BBL/d Feyzin Refinery in Rhone-Alpes at a 50% rate, due to an ongoing strike. A date for a return to full operations remains unknown, but the refinery is expected to remain at reduced operations at least until the national strike day scheduled April 6. Subscribers can read a detailed plant profile.
• Esso Raffinage SAF, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (Irving, Texas), is maintaining the plantwide shutdown of its 240,000-BBL/d Port-Jerome Gravenchon Refinery in Haute-Normandie. The refinery was forced to shut down all units on March 24, due to lack of feed supply related to strikes. A restart date remains unknown, but the refinery is expected to remain shut at least until April 6. Subscribers can read a detailed plant profile.
• Esso Raffinage's 140,000-BBL/d Fos-sur-Mer Refinery near Marseille remains operational. Subscribers can read a detailed plant profile.

Last week, Hillary Stevenson, Senior Director of Energy Market Intelligence for Industrial Info, noted the strikes are having "a supporting impact on refined product prices and a weakening impact on regional crude prices." For more information, see March 30, 2023, article - French Oil Refinery Strikes to Tighten Gasoil Supplies.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of detailed plant profiles for crude oil refineries across France.

Industrial Info also is tracking about US$430 million worth of active capital-spending projects at France's refineries, as well as about US$64 million worth of maintenance-related projects that are set to kick off through the end of 2024. Currently, it is unknown if, or how, the strikes will affect these projects. Subscribers can click here for a list of detailed project reports.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).