Doris Leblond
OGJ Correspondent
PARIS, Oct. 5 -- A strike affecting the ports of Fos and Lavéra on the French Riviera could force refineries owned by Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Total SA, and BP-Innovene to shut down for lack of feedstock if it does not end within a few days.
The Marseille Port Authority, which operates the ports, indicated that 26 oil tankers, 6 gas carriers, and 5 chemical carriers were among the 39 vessels blocked.
Members of the leftist labor union CGT began the strike Sept. 26 to protest the announced privatization of the maritime company Société National Corse Méditerranée, which provides links between Corsica and the French continent.
The BP-Innovene refinery and petrochemical site at Lavéra is running at reduced capacity, but its other downstream production—215,000 tonnes/year of high density polyethylene, 220,000 tonnes/year of ethylene oxide, and 110,000 tonnes/year of glycol ether—has not been affected.
Total said its La Mède refinery is running normally because stocks are sufficient, and no tanker was scheduled this week.
Workers at Total's Gonfreville L'Orcher refinery and petrochemical plant in northern France also have been on strike—for pay demands—for 13 days (OGJ, Oct. 3, 2005, Newsletter). Workers voted Oct. 3 to continue their movement until the Oct. 8-9 weekend.
Total spokeswoman Bertille Aron told OGJ that the group's 11 refineries in Europe have taken up the slack to ensure supply to customers. However, the company declared force majeure last week on paraxylene and orthoxylene production.
Shell's spokeswoman Mathilde Mithard told OGJ that an oil tanker was able to pass through the blockade last weekend, when public forces opened the ports to ensure safety of the installations. The strike resumed Oct. 3, but Shell now has stocks at its Berre-L'Etang site sufficient until the end of the week, she said.