Dunkirk LNG strike extended to 10 March

Industrial action at France's Dunkirk LNG import terminal has been extended by 24 hours to 06:00 CET on 10 March, terminal operator Fluxys told Argus today.

The strike started at 06:00 CET yesterday and Fluxys had expected it to last for "at least 48 hours" , suggesting industrial action could conclude tomorrow morning. Operations at the plant will remain reduced to the technical minimum, while the berthing jetty for LNG carriers and LNG small-scale truck-loadings will also be unavailable.

Nationwide strikes against pension reforms in France have shuttered all of the country's LNG import infrastructure. Operator Elengy's 8mn t/yr Montoir, 2.2mn t/yr Fos Tonkin and 6.6mn t/yr Fos Cavaou import facilities were shut down on 6 March at 13:00 CET, with no cargo unloadings, LNG storage utilisation, regasification or small-scale operations until 14 March.

There have been several diversions away from Elengy-operated import terminals in recent days (see table). And the 161,900m³ Maran Gas Alexandria arrived at Dunkirk on Tuesday but is still holding offshore the terminal.

French sendout from the country's four terminals was just 11.5GWh on Tuesday, the lowest for any day since 7 March 2018.

By Ellie Holbrook

Diverted LNG carriers Vessel French terminal New destination LNG Sokoto Fos Cavaou Isle of Grain, UK Minerva Amorgos Fos Cavaou TBC Global Energy Fos Tonkin Barcelona, Spain Maran Gas Olympias Montoir Gate, Netherlands Fedor Litke Montoir TBC — Vortexa

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