Three French Oil Refineries Prepare for Restart, Oil Ports Still Shut
Preliminary work got underway on Monday to restart three of Total's French oil refineries stopped as part of nationwide strikes against planned changes to employment laws, but workers were still on strike at the country's two main oil ports. Workers voted to end a strike at Grandpuits near Paris and preliminary work on resuming operations was underway there and at the Normandy refinery, as well as at the Feyzin refinery in the southern Rhone region, a Total spokesman said. Total operates five of the country's eight refineries. The Donges refinery on France's western coast was still blocked by about 30 members of the hardline CGT union, which is leading the campaign of stoppages and protests in the rail and energy sectors against the government's labour reforms.
Erika To Be Emptied
TotalFinaElf picked Coflexip Stena Offshore and Stolt Offshore to pump oil from the tanker Erika, which sank off France's Atlantic coast. TotalFinaElf, which has faced widespread criticism in France for the disaster, has agreed with the government to pump up to 15,000 tons of heavy fuel still believed to be trapped in the holds of the tanker. The difficult operation, involving two ships with pumps and a tanker to carry the recovered oil to the Donges refinery near Nantes, is scheduled to begin next month. It is expected to be completed in September. TotalFinaElf has estimated the cost of the operation at $57 million.
Total Barges into St. Nazaire with Low Sulphur
Total Marine Fuels has started delivering low-sulphur bunkers by barge from its Donges refinery for the port of St Nazaire/Montoir, in France. Total has been supplying low-sulphur bunkers in the St Nazaire region for more than a year, but until now deliveries have only been available by truck. David Bleasdale, General Manager of Total Marine Fuels, says, “Total continues to invest in new products and services on a wide scale, with the emphasis where necessary on the need to supply low-sulphur fuels to key markets. “Elsewhere, we are working towards offering low-sulphur fuel in Fos/Lavera next year, while CEPSA, where Total is a significant shareholder, is ready to offer it now in Algeciras. Zeebrugge, meanwhile, is a big success story for Total.
