Total delays restart of Grandpuits refinery

Total SA has postponed restarting its 101,000-b/d Grandpuits refinery near Melun in northern France following a planned maintenance shutdown earlier in the month as a result of the country’s ongoing reduced demand for fuels amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The refinery, which ceased production in early March for execution of scheduled maintenance on unidentified units at the plant, previously was due for restart by the end of the month, Total said in a release.

While Total confirmed the Grandpuits site will maintain unidentified “partial activity” during the prolonged shutdown period, the operator did not indicate a specific timeframe for when it might resume operations at the refinery, which supplies much of the greater Paris region with refined fuel products.

Total did not disclose details of scheduled maintenance that was to be conducted during the month-long shutdown of the Grandpuits-Gargenville refining platform, which—before the COVID-19 interruption—most recently was scheduled for its next major turnaround in 2021, according to the operator’s website.

To date, it remains unclear whether the planned 2021 turnaround in any way will be impacted following Total’s Mar. 23 announcement that—in a context of oil prices near $30/bbl—the operator will cut its 2020 organic capex budget by more than $3 billion, or 20%, reducing 2020 net investments to less than $15 billion (OGJ Online, Mar. 23, 2020).