Total responds to Donges refinery bunker oil spill

March 19, 2008
Total SA is cleaning up bunker oil that spilled Mar. 17 from a pipe leak at the company's Donges refinery in the Loire Atlantique district.

Doris Leblond
OGJ Correspondent

PARIS, Mar. 19 -- Total SA is cleaning up bunker oil that spilled Mar. 17 from a pipe leak at the company's Donges refinery in the Loire Atlantique district. The accidental leak occurred during the loading of a vessel. About 300 tonnes of the heavy oil spilled onto the banks around the refinery and 100 tonnes into the Loire River.

In close liaison with authorities, Total mobilized 200 people to limit the impact of the spill, conduct cleaning operations, and coordinate with teams mobilized by the authorities, as bunker oil requires special handling precautions the group said.

Total has apologized to the riverside residents and the communities the spill affects and confirms its commitment to assume full costs of the cleanup.