France: Total Reported to Start La Mede Refinery Units
|
|
|
|
Wednesday, 10 December 2008 |
|
Total SA is restarting fuel units at its La Mede refinery in France
after a two-month halt, according to sources with knowledge of the
situation.
It may take about two weeks for full capacity at the plant in
Provence to be reached. The maintenance work began around Oct. 6 and
was due to finish by Dec. 6 as reported by PetrolWorld.
The resumption of operations will increase fuel supplies in southern
Europe at a time of rising inventories and falling fuel prices.
“There’s a fuel surplus in Europe so even a minor increase in supply
can be catastrophic for the gasoline market,” Ehsan Ul-Haq, head of
research at Vienna-based JBC Energy GmbH, said.
France was the third-largest international supplier of fuel to the U.S.
in September, shipping 3.58 million barrels, according to the U.S.
Energy Department. Only the Netherlands and U.K. shipped more.
Earlier in the year, refiners including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal
Dutch Shell Plc, performed maintenance on units to reduce sulfur in
fuels ahead of a European Union directive calling for lower emissions,
which comes into effect in January.
PetrolWorld 091208
|
