- French strikes are disrupting the delivery of fuels from three oil refineries.
- The disruption comes 2 1/2 weeks before a European Union embargo on fuel imports from Russia.
- It will deprive the bloc of its biggest external diesel supplier.
Together with Exxon Mobil Corp., Total accounts for a huge share of French fuel production and the unions, protesting about pensions, are threatening to ratchet up their actions. The strikes go beyond oil refining. The actions of Exxon workers on Thursday appeared less disruptive.
More On The Way
The one-day action is the first step in a set of planned measures that get progressively more serious. On Jan. 26 there’s due to be a 48-hour stoppage and then on Feb. 6, that will be followed up by a three-day strike, according to the CGT union.
Wholesale supply of fuels including gasoline and diesel have stopped from the Total’s Donges, Normandy and Feyzin refineries, it said, adding that Feyzin has been forced to cut operating rates to a minimum.
Biofuel Affected
Strike action is also hampering operations at the La Mede biofuels site and other depots operated by Total, according to the union. Exxon said that fuel loadings were hampered at its Fos refinery but that production and supply at its larger Gravenchon complex in Normandy were normal.
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Source: Bloomberg
