FOCUS- Around 12.5 million tonnes of crude oil are refined there each year, i.e. 12% of the refining capacity in France.
The movement continues. The strike at the TotalEnergies refinery in Gonfreville-L’Orcher (Seine-Maritime) was extended this Thursday until October 27, the day when TotalEnergies is due to announce its third quarter results.
This refinery, with the Feyzin depot (Rhône), are the last two sites to continue the movement started by the CGT on September 27 for a wage increase, which has caused major fuel supply difficulties, exasperating individuals and professionals struggling to fill their tanks. “The balance of power is always impressive. Employees hold the dragee high at Total“, Estimates the CGT delegate Pierre-Yves Hauguel. “I hear in the press that we would be irreducible Normans, they would like to reduce us to lowering our heads, bending our backs when in front there is contempt, it’s not“, he lambasted. “The employees are straight, they look proud, they will carry the fight to the end“, according to him.
SEE ALSO – Fuel shortage: the strike “will obviously continue” at the Feyzin refinery
12% of refining capacity in France
The site is emblematic, since it is the largest refinery in France. According to data from TotalEnergies, approximately 12.5 million tonnes of crude oil are refined there each year, or 12% of refining capacity in France. Second largest site in the country for the company, the Donges refinery and its processing capacity of 11 million tonnes per year. Next comes that of Feyzin, with 5.4 million tonnes. The company’s total production represents approximately 40% of the demand for fuels at the pump.
The continuation of the strike at the largest refinery in France should not prevent the situation from continuing to improve at gas stations. Indeed, this Thursday, less than 17% of service stations are still experiencing difficulties nationwide. The situation remains tense in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (29%), in Île-de-France (25.5%), in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (25%) and in Occitanie (20.5%). Everywhere else, less than one service station in five is short of at least one product.
“It would have been more comfortable if it had restarted, but the increase in fuel imports and the gradual restart of Esso-ExxonMobil’s Gravenchon-Port-Jérôme refinery make it possible to compensate“says Jean-Louis Schilansky, oil expert. In fact, beyond the use of strategic stocks and the requisitioning of personnel, the oil majors have had recourse to imports from northern Europe, Russia, India, the Middle East and even South America. North.
Read alsoFuel crisis: the strike is running out of steam as the holidays approach
However, the continuation of these imports is causing pressure on prices. “It won’t allow prices to come down.», Recognizes the oil expert. Prices at the pump have actually increased over the past three weeks: +10.6% for diesel and +10.4% for unleaded last Thursday. A second downside is on the side of the supply of Île-de-France and Normandy in fuels, usually directly supplied by the refinery still on strike. “But the end of the movement on the Gravenchon-Port-Jérôme site, located near the Gonfreville-L’Orcher refinery, should still make it possible to ensure part of the supplies.», nuance the oil expert.
SEE ALSO – Strikes: what political consequences?