French energy group Total SA has said that the transition of its Grandpuits refinery into a “zero-crude platform” would not cause job layoffs. Total noted that it would provide all employees with an appropriate solution as some of them are expected to take early retirements or move to the company’s other sites. The facility will stop processing crude by the first quarter of 2021 and then start work on the €500 million ($584 million) conversion project.
After the overhaul, Total’s Grandpuits plant will focus on four new industrial activities: plastic recycling, biodiesel production, sugar-based polylactic acid (PLA) production, and photovoltaic solar power plants. These new operations are expected to start up by around 2024.
Total employs 400 staff at the Grandpuits refinery and its linked Gargenville depot. Of whom, 250 will be maintained after the industrial repurposing. The sugar-based PLA production will be integrated with a packaging unit which is expected to create 15 new jobs. The company also estimated that during the three-year construction phase, the project would open about 1,000 jobs.
Among factors pushing the change is the leak on the Ile-de-France pipeline (PLIF) which brings crude from Le Havre port to the refinery. The pipeline leaked oil last year prompting the company to idle Grandpuits refinery between late February and July. After the leak, PLIF runs at about 70% capacity, reducing production at Grandpuits. The company’s assessments found that Grandpuits production could be restored only by replacing the PLIF, which can cost approximately €600 million ($700 million).
