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French LNG terminals shut down by

strike action

FRANCE FRANCE’S four LNG terminals went offline Pirineos point reversed its flow to supply France
early last week as a result of industrial action, with gas imported at Spanish regasification facil-
The strikes relate to and they are not expected to resume operations ities for the first time since mid-February.
planned government until March 14. Their shutdown has triggered a The strikes have also affected fuel deliveries
pension reforms. spike in European gas prices, which for weeks and refining operations at several sites operated
have seen steady decline. by TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil, Reuters has
A rolling national strike against the govern- reported. Further exacerbating the country’s
ment’s plan to delay the pension age has hit mul- energy woes, industrial action at nuclear, ther-
tiple sectors, including refineries, nuclear power mal and hydroelectric power plants (HPPs)
plants (NPPs) and LNG terminals. has caused electricity output to plummet by
France’s northernmost and largest LNG ter- 9.9 GW, although France has remained a net
minal, the 12.4mn tonne per year (tpy) facility power exporter thanks to strong wind power
in Dunkirk operated by Fluxys, was forced to generation.
declare a force majeure on March 8. There have The LNG disruption, coinciding with a
also been stoppages at Elengy’s 8mn tpy Mon- cold snap across northern and north-western
toir, the 2.2mn tpy Fos Tonkin and 6.6mn tpy Fos Europe, caused a rare spike in European power
Cavaou terminals. prices at the end of last week. The April TTF
France had to resort to imported pipeline sup- gas price climbed to €52.9 per MWh ($600 per
ply via Belgium last week for the first time since 1,000 cubic metres) at the end of last year, up
July to cover shortages. Meanwhile, France’s from €43.6 during the previous trading session.
interconnector with Spain that runs via the This marks the biggest day-on-day climb in

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