Page 16 - EurOil Week 24

EurOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES EurOil

Total weighs up future of

Grandpuits refinery

FRANCE FRANCE’S Total is considering options for ($285-340mn), Total is considering converting
the future of its 93,000 barrel per day (bpd) the refinery to process biofuel instead.
Total has had long- Grandpuits oil refinery near Paris, because of According to Argus, the plant could be
standing issues with oil long-standing issues with the pipeline that sup- upgraded to produce hydro-treated vegetable
supply to the refinery plies its crude. oil, just as Total has done at its former 160,000
and may decide to The company told Reuters on June 12 it was bpd refinery at La Mede. It could also be used as
convert it to biofuel carrying out an audit of the 260-km PLIF pipe- a carbon, capture and storage (CCS) site, or for
production. line that pumps oil to the refinery from France’s the production of bio-plastics or the recycling of
northern port of Le Havre. The 102,000 bpd pipe- polypropylene.
line has been running at reduced pressure since it Like other international oil companies
leaked 900 cubic metres of oil and water last year. (IOCs), Total is under mounting pressure to shift
This has impaired operations at the Grandpuits away from fossil fuels. The COVID-19 pandemic
plant. Another spill occurred in 2014. has also exacerbated problems with overcapacity
The refinery was taken offline in March for in European refining, with France and Italy seen
maintenance and did not come back online until as the markets worst affected by weak margins.
the start of this month, because of weaker fuel Because of its location, the Grandpuits plant can
demand as a result of the coronavirus (COVID- only serve the domestic market.
19) crisis. In August last year, Total sold its 30% stake
“The longer-term future of Grandpuits rests in France’s Trapil pipeline system, which deliv-
on the viability of the pipeline,” Total told Reu- ers fuel produced at Grandpuits and its refinery
ters, noting that PLIF was currently working at in Normandy to customers. Local midstream
only 70% capacity. Given the potential cost of player Pisto paid €260mn ($291mn) for the
replacing the pipeline, estimated at €250-300mn share. ™

Galp partially resumes output at

major Portuguese refinery

PORTUGAL PORTUGAL’S Galp Energia said on June 16 it because of government-imposed lockdowns.
had partially resumed production at its 220,000 These lockdowns were brought into force in
Galp halted operations barrel per day (bpd) Sines refinery south of Portugal in mid-March but have now been
at the plant in early Lisbon, after a shutdown lasting more than a largely lifted. Neighbouring Spain is also easing
May because of month. restrictions.
a collapse in fuel Galp halted operations at Sines on May 4, Demand for gas has sunk by 21.1% in Por-
demand. after running out of storage space following a tugal since the start of the year, according to the
sharp decline in fuel demand owing to coro- country’s Association of Petroleum Companies.
navirus-related travel restrictions. It shut down Back in early March, Galp was reported to be
its 110,000 bpd Matosinhos refinery a month seeking to divest its gas distribution assets in the
earlier. hope of raising up to €1.5bn ($1.7bn). Through
“Galp will continue to monitor the evolution an associate firm, the company says on its web-
of the national, Iberian and international mar- site that it has stakes in nine gas distributors in
kets to adjust its refineries to the challenging Portugal, with a network spanning 13,015 km.
and uncertain global context,” the company told The regulated asset-based value of this business
Reuters on June 16. was estimated at €1.1bn at the end of 2018.
Galp, which also produces fossil fuels and dis- Galp is yet to confirm the plan, which may
tributes gas, saw profits plunge 72% in the first have been scuppered in response to the COVID-
quarter, after its oil product sales fell around 13% 19 crisis. ™

P16 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 24 18•June•2020