Total to suspend operations at Donges refinery

Published by Nicholas Woodroof, Editor
Hydrocarbon Engineering, Tuesday, 24 November 2020 16:40

As reported by Reuters, Total has announced that operations at its Donges refinery in western France will be halted over the coming months because the facility was losing money due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Union sources said the stoppage would take effect on Monday and could last for four months.

“The COVID crisis has a negative impact on oil products demand, which causes a very sharp deterioration of refinery margins,” Total said.

“In this context, the Donges refinery is operating at a loss. We have decided to halt it (...) for the months to come, awaiting better economic conditions”, it added.

It said the €450 million (US$534 million) modernisation of the 220 000 bpd facility was nonetheless ongoing.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/24112020/total-to-suspend-operations-at-donges-refinery/

Hydrocarbon Engineering Podcast

Susan Bell, Senior Vice President within Commodity Markets – Oil, Rystad Energy, discusses the impact of trade wars on global oil demand and oil prices, in light of President Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs.

Listen for free today »