French crude imports tick up

French crude imports picked up slightly in June as the easing of Covid-19 lockdown measures gave a boost to oil product demand.

France imported just under 730,000 b/d of crude in June, up from 690,000 b/d in May and 555,000 b/d in April, according to customs data. June's imports, which were 27pc lower than a year earlier, took the average for the first half of 2020 to below 675,000 b/d, compared with 1.1mn b/d in the same period last year. The US was France's largest supplier in the first six months of the year, followed by Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kazakhstan.

French crude imports were already constrained before the onset of Covid-19 in Europe, with nationwide strikes over pension rights squeezing demand in the first two months of the year.

Demand in the second half of the year will be supported by Total restarting its 105,000 b/d Feyzin refinery after a five-month shutdown. The refinery has begun to take crude at the port of Fos-Lavera.

But French imports are unlikely to rise back to 2019 levels any time soon. Local authorities are carrying out a judicial review into a fire at a crude distillation unit at Total's 240,000 b/d Gonfreville refinery, and the CGT union said the unit could remain shut into next year.

By Adam Porter

French crude imports '000t