France Gonfreville refinery requisitions spark protests

Proposed worker requisitions at TotalEnergies' 246,000 b/d Gonfreville refinery in France have been met with protest by unions.

Regional authorities at Le Havre requisitioned workers to release stocks at the plant, as country-wide strikes over planned changes to pension rights entered a 17th day. A worker told Argus this morning the requisitions have not yet been carried out.

Still, the move has irked unions and their supporters, who have blocked a number of roads around Le Havre this morning. No deliveries are leaving the refinery, which has been stopped since 21 March, probably because of a lack of crude deliveries since 10-11 March. Its units were progressively closed over the previous weekend.

ExxonMobil's nearby 236,000 b/d Port Jerome refinery is operational, but at low levels. Trade union CGT said this morning no deliveries are leaving Port Jerome. The union said it had expected some deliveries to be allowed out at 22:00 today, but this morning a worker said that "nothing is expected for the moment."

The requisitions at Gonfreville follow similar moves at storage firm Depot Petroliers Fos (DPF) at the Mediterranean port of Fos-Lavera on 21 March, which again was the catalyst for confrontations between police and protesters. The DPF requisitions have gone ahead with workers releasing some stocks, as service stations increasingly go short of fuels.

TotalEnergies said this morning that 37pc of its 282 workers on its first shift were on strike.

The company's 219,000 b/d Donges refinery remains halted, with repairs to fire damage unable to go ahead. TotalEnergies' 109,300 b/d Feyzin unit near Lyon is operational but at very low levels. No deliveries are leaving either plant.

UK-Chinese refiner Petroineos' 207,100 b/d Lavera refinery has halted operations as a result of a lack of crude. ExxonMobil's 133,000 Fos refinery is operational but it is unclear for how long. A backlog of crude cargoes continues at Fos-Lavera, as dockers are on strike until at least 22:00 on 24 March.

By around 18:00 local time today 7.8mn bl of crude will be waiting to unload at Fos-Lavera. A cargo of around 700,000 bl of WTI Midland will arrive today, to join waiting tankers carrying Caspian CPC Blend, Angolan Olombendo, plus Libyan, Algerian, Nigerian, Saudi Arabian grades and more Midland. Fos-Lavera serves four refineries — Lavera, Fos, TotalEnergies' Feyzin and Varo's 68,000 b/d Cressier in Switzerland.

A string of crude cargoes are also waiting offshore Le Havre. No tankers are moving towards either port.

Today is another day of national strike action against the French government's planned changes to pension rights. There are blockades at airports, roads, railways, municipal sites and a string of other locations around the country.

By Adam Porter