Total, Ecoslops Ink Maritime Oil Residue Processing Deal

Ecoslops  an innovative technology company that upgrades ship-generated hydrocarbon residues, or “slops”, into new fuels and light bitumen, has today announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Total, to form a partnership to set up a maritime transport induced oil residue waste-processing unit in La Mède, near Marseille. Within this agreement, Ecoslops and Total will conduct a detailed study and research with regards to the final investment decision in 2017.

Every year, the global fleet produces oil residues, also known as “slops”, containing maritime hydrocarbon residues, accumulated at the bottom of ship tanks. MARPOL international regulations stipulate that it is forbidden to discharge these slops into the sea, and that all slops must be discharged in ports. In most cases, these slops are incinerated when they could be upgraded into fuels and light bitumen. Ecoslops made this processing possible through its unique micro-refinery technology, suited to these types of residues.

Alongside being fully part of the La Mède transformation project, which aims to develop projects for the future, the construction of such a processing unit would cater for the growing maritime transport’s need to sustainably upgrade its waste.

In signing the partnership, Francois Bourrasse, director of Total’s La Mède site declared: “In 2015, Total decided to invest in the La Mède site to transform it and create the first French bio-refinery. The construction of this oil residue regeneration unit strengthens the site’s industrial redeployment. It is very good news, which reaffirms the appeal for this industrial site. We look forward to our partnership with Ecoslops in this circular economy project.”

Commenting on the development, Vincent Favier, CEO of Ecoslops, said: “The success of our first unit in Portugal established Ecoslops as a technology leader. Many other conversations are in progress in order to equip large ports. The large scale and significant traffic of the Port of Marseille convinced us that it was the right location for the settlement of our second unit. The viability of our project, as well as the findings of our shared research with Total, backed the common interest in setting up our micro-refinery in the La Mède location.”