A source from the General Confederation of Labour (Confédération Générale du Travail - CGT) union said that Total would likely reconfigure its Grandpuits refinery in north-central France into a bioplastic production facility. The union source said Total would close the Grandpuits refinery in March 2021, and under the so-called “Project Galaxie,” will convert it into a bioplastics plant that uses feedstocks from recycled plastics and agricultural products.
Among factors pushing the change is repairs on the Ile-de-France pipeline (PLIF) which is potentially to be costly. The pipeline, which brings crude from Le Havre port to the refinery, leaked oil last year prompting the company to idle Grandpuits refinery between late February and July. By the end of July, PLIF ran at 70% of capacity, meaning that the refinery processed less crude oil.
At the time, Total said it was calculating the cost to fix or replace the PLIF. Meanwhile, a local media reported that the cost would be boosted by a major planned turnaround at the refinery in March next year. Total previously stopped crude processing in the La Mede refinery in 2016 and started biodiesel production at the facility in 2019.
