Total Targeting La Mede, Donges Plants

French oil major Total plans to shut all its oil refining activity at its La Mede refinery on the Mediterranean and also eyes investments at its Donges refinery on the Atlantic coast to make it profitable, union sources told Reuters.

 

"The two sites that are targeted are La Mede and Donges. Things are practically settled but it's not official yet," one union source said.

 

The 153,000 barrel-per-day La Mede refinery near Marseille will be turned into a biofuel production plant, three union sources said, while the 219,000-bpd Donges plant, where the restructuring is not expected to be as drastic, will receive investments to make it profitable again.

 

Total had said it would unveil its restructuring plan for the French refining sector in the spring. Earlier this month, it unveiled a plan to cut capacity by half at its Lindsey refinery in Britain and shed 180 jobs.

 

Trade union groups were meeting management and human resources representatives in La Defense on Tuesday morning to discuss the impact on jobs at La Mede.

 

"Management did not unveil its industrial plan today, but they clearly said there would no longer be oil refining at La Mede in its plan," a union source said.

 

The fate of the Donges refinery was not mentionned on Tuesday but rather during previous union meetings with management. The site is handicapped by a rail line that goes through it and prevents its modernisation, the source said.

 

Contacted by Reuters, a spokesman for Total said the group was still working on its French refining plan and would unveil it to unions in the spring.