French port strike threatens fuel supply
A crippling strike at the strategic Fos-Lavera oil hub near Marseille entered its third week yesterday, threatening fuel supplies to French motorists and gasoline exports to US markets.
The Fos-Lavera is the world's third-biggest port for oil products with 64.2 million tonnes moving through it annually.
The local authority in the region said yesterday the strikers would today meet port bosses and Gaz de France (GDF), the company concerned, to find a way out of the crisis.
'The CGT union says that a meeting with the port authorities and GDF is a must to enable work to restart,' the authority said in a statement.
Today's meeting, set for 0800 GMT, will be the third attempt to try to end the strike.
Two previous attempts had failed, the latest being a vote carried out on Tuesday by the port staff to continue the strike.
Refineries dependent on the hub have already begun reducing output and could be forced to shut down completely as early as the weekend if the strike continues, slashing 7 per cent of European refinery capacity or 1.10 million barrels per day.
As a result, fuel supplies to motorists in the region could be affected in the next 10 days, the French petroleum industry body UFIP said.
Fos-Lavera is a key regional crude inlet for the region and is also crucial for oil product exports to the United States.
The Marseille port is responsible for imports and exports for 600,000 bpd of French refining on the Mediterranean.
The dispute has forced some French refineries linked to the hub such as Total's La Mede and Feyzin refineries to run at 65 per cent of capacity.
Some plants have postponed shutting down as long as possible.
'Stopping a refinery is a hard thing to do, it is very expensive and restarting it is a long process,' a Total spokesman said.
The strike began on March 14 to demand that only port staff be used to hook up liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes at a GDF terminal due to start up at the end of 2007.
GDF rejected the demand, saying only its staff were qualified to do the work for safety and technical reasons.
The conflict has cost the oil firms between US$6 million and US$7 million since it started, due to compensation penalties they have paid shippers because of blocked vessels, UFIP says, adding the daily cost of blocked vessels mounted to US$500,000.
The port said the strike was now blocking 51 ships, including 28 oil tankers, six gas tankers and 17 cargo vessels transporting chemical products from entering the hub.
The Fos-Lavera is the world's third-biggest port for oil products with 64.2 million tonnes moving through it annually.
The local authority in the region said yesterday the strikers would today meet port bosses and Gaz de France (GDF), the company concerned, to find a way out of the crisis.
'The CGT union says that a meeting with the port authorities and GDF is a must to enable work to restart,' the authority said in a statement.
Today's meeting, set for 0800 GMT, will be the third attempt to try to end the strike.
Two previous attempts had failed, the latest being a vote carried out on Tuesday by the port staff to continue the strike.
Refineries dependent on the hub have already begun reducing output and could be forced to shut down completely as early as the weekend if the strike continues, slashing 7 per cent of European refinery capacity or 1.10 million barrels per day.
As a result, fuel supplies to motorists in the region could be affected in the next 10 days, the French petroleum industry body UFIP said.
Fos-Lavera is a key regional crude inlet for the region and is also crucial for oil product exports to the United States.
The Marseille port is responsible for imports and exports for 600,000 bpd of French refining on the Mediterranean.
The dispute has forced some French refineries linked to the hub such as Total's La Mede and Feyzin refineries to run at 65 per cent of capacity.
Some plants have postponed shutting down as long as possible.
'Stopping a refinery is a hard thing to do, it is very expensive and restarting it is a long process,' a Total spokesman said.
The strike began on March 14 to demand that only port staff be used to hook up liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes at a GDF terminal due to start up at the end of 2007.
GDF rejected the demand, saying only its staff were qualified to do the work for safety and technical reasons.
The conflict has cost the oil firms between US$6 million and US$7 million since it started, due to compensation penalties they have paid shippers because of blocked vessels, UFIP says, adding the daily cost of blocked vessels mounted to US$500,000.
The port said the strike was now blocking 51 ships, including 28 oil tankers, six gas tankers and 17 cargo vessels transporting chemical products from entering the hub.