Last of France's striking refinery workers end walkout

The last of France's striking refinery workers have voted to return to work, marking an end to wage-related industrial action that at one point shut in five of the country's six refineries and caused widespread fuel shortages.

Workers belonging to the CGT trade union at TotalEnergies' 109,300 b/d Feyzin refinery near Lyon voted to return to work on Tuesday after a six-week walkout over wages. Members of other unions at Feyzin ended their strike in mid-October, and fuel deliveries had been taking place without the need to requisition staff. It is unclear if a full restart of operations at Feyzin is underway. Prior to the strike, the refinery suffered a fire in a fluid catalytic cracker and the pace of repair work is uncertain.

Workers at TotalEnergies' two other French refineries — the 219,000 b/d Donges and 246,900 b/d Gonfreville plants — have already returned to work. The strike at Donges ended last month and the industrial action at Gonfreville was called off at the start of November , although the status of operations at the latter is unclear.

Meanwhile, ExxonMobil's two French refineries — the 133,000 b/d Fos and 236,000 b/d Port Jerome plants — are now fully operational, as is the Gravenchon petrochemical facility adjacent to Port Jerome. Workers there had been on strike over wages from the end of September until mid-October.

A crude backlog at the port of Fos-Lavera has yet to clear. The Delta Blue tanker is waiting around 55km south of the terminal with 1mn bl of Doba crude from Chad for ExxonMobil. It arrived at Fos on 29 September but has been unable to unload as the refinery's crude tanks are full. Another vessel, the Maran Solon, is waiting close to the port with 700,000 bl of US WTI for ExxonMobil, having arrived on 10 October. During the strike crude for TotalEnergies also diverted away from Fos-Lavera.

At one stage during October workers at five out of France's six refineries were on strike demanding higher wages. Out of France's 1.15mn b/d of refining capacity, only UK-Chinese venture Petroineos' 207,100 b/d refinery at Lavera remained online. Workers at TotalEnergies' Carling petrochemicals plant, its 500,000 t/yr hydrotreated vegetable oil plant at La Mede, plus its logistics depot at Flanders also downed tools.

The walkouts caused widespread fuel shortages at service stations, prompting the government to force workers to open fuel tanks under requisition orders. The strikes triggered stock draws in France and led to an increase in French middle distillate imports.

By Adam Porter

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