MOSCOW (MRC) -- The crude distillation unit at Total's Gonfreville refinery will likely stay offline for at least six weeks following a fire Saturday, 14 December 2019, reported S&P Global with reference to industry sources.
"For the moment the refinery is producing at reduced rates using its own stocks but since the CDU will probably have to remain offline for many months, the other units will eventually have to be stopped as well," a trade union source said, adding that, following the fire, the industrial action currently gripping French infrastructure had been suspended at Gonfreville.
According to a diesel trader, the CDU will stay offline for at least six to eight weeks. "I heard the CDU was damaged by the fire," he said.
Total declined to comment.
The company had previously reported on its website that operations at Gonfreville l'Orcher were partially suspended following the fire Saturday morning at a pump feeding crude into the distillation unit.
The refinery was restarted at the end of November after undergoing maintenance for two months, beginning in September.
As MRC informed before, in early November 2019, Total disclosed that it is evaluating construction of a new gas cracker at its Deasan, South Korea, joint venture (JV) with Hanwha Chemical.
Total is also developing a USD1.4-billion propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene (PP) complex at Arzew, Algeria, in partnership with Algeria’s state-owned oil company Sonatrach. The facilities will be designed to produce 600,000 metric tons/year each of propylene and PP. The project is in FEED phase with FID due in 2021.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.
Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
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