Regulatory News:
Within the framework of its net zero strategy, Total (Paris:FP)
(LSE:TTA) (NYSE:TOT) will convert its Grandpuits refinery
(Seine-et-Marne) into a zero-crude platform. By 2024, following an
investment totaling more than EUR500 million, the platform will
focus on four new industrial activities:
-- Production of renewable diesel primarily intended for the aviation
industry.
-- Production of bioplastics.
-- Plastics recycling.
-- Operation of two photovoltaic solar power plants.
Meanwhile, crude oil refining at the platform will be
discontinued in the first quarter of 2021 and storage of petroleum
products will end in late 2023. Operations at service stations and
airports in the Greater Paris region will not be affected: they
will be supplied by the refineries at Donges--currently undergoing
a EUR450 million modernization--and Normandy.
This decision to end its oil refining comes in the wake of an
audit conducted over several months on the 260-kilometer
Ile-de-France pipeline (PLIF), which carries crude oil from the
Port of Le Havre to the Grandpuits refinery.
The refinery was forced to shut down for more than five months
in 2019 when a leak appeared on the PLIF, following an earlier leak
near Le Havre in 2014. With the approval of government officials,
the PLIF's maximum working pressure was reduced to ensure safe
operation. As a result, the refinery could operate at only 70% of
its capacity, threatening its long-term financial viability.
The audit found that normal operations at the refinery could be
restored only by replacing the PLIF, at a cost of nearly EUR600
million. Given France's plans for the energy transition up to 2040,
therefore, Total has decided to end its oil refining at Grandpuits
and embark on an industrial transformation of the site, backed by a
major investment plan.
"With the industrial repurposing of the Grandpuits refinery into
a zero-crude platform focused on energies of the future connected
with biomass and the circular economy, Total is demonstrating its
commitment to the energy transition and reaffirming its ambition to
achieve carbon neutrality in Europe by 2050," says Bernard Pinatel,
President of Total Refining & Chemicals. "Grandpuits will
remain a major industrial site drawing on the know-how and
expertise of its teams, and our partner firms will be playing a key
role as well."
A responsible industrial redeployment with no layoffs
Total will carry out this industrial redeployment with no
layoffs, with early retirements and internal mobility within the
Group' sites, providing each employee with an appropriate
solution.
Of the 400 jobs at the Grandpuits platform and its associated
Gargenville (Yvelines) depot today, 250 will be maintained after
the conversion. Furthermore, 15 additional jobs will be created on
the Grandpuits site in a packaging unit connected to the
bioplastics unit.
In addition, the work projects generated by this industrial
investment of more than EUR500 million will create up to 1,000 jobs
over the three-year period for construction of the new units.
Total has also carried out a thorough review of the partner
companies working on the platform, which amount to the equivalent
of 300 full-time jobs. The Group is committed to supporting each
partner company during the industrial repurposing of the site. In
its new configuration, the Grandpuits platform will continue to
prioritize its partner businesses, which will represent the
equivalent of 200 full-time jobs.
Total will, of course, comply with all of its contractual
commitments to its customers.
Total and the Ile-de-France region intend to launch a campaign
to attract other industries to the property made available at the
Grandpuits site and on industrial estates near the Grandpuits and
Gargenville sites.
Three Innovative Industrial Projects Amounting to Investments of
More Than EUR500 Million
The Grandpuits facility will become a model zero-crude platform
in France, boasting three new industrial units:
-- A bio-refinery: Total will construct a renewable diesel unit, primarily
producing for the aviation industry. This initiative will contribute to
France's roadmap for deploying sustainable aviation fuel, which calls for
an incorporation target into aviation fuel of 2% by 2025 and 5% by 2030.
The new unit, to be commissioned in 2024, will be able to
process 400,000 tons per year, with potential annual production
of:
-- 170,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel.
-- 120,000 tons of renewable diesel.
-- 50,000 tons of renewable naphtha, used to produce bioplastics.
The unit will process primarily animal fats from Europe and used
cooking oil, supplemented with other vegetable oils like rapeseed
(but excluding palm oil). Total will prioritize local
suppliers.
Biofuels that reduce carbon emissions by at least 50% compared
to their fossil equivalents are one component of Total's strategy
for meeting the challenge of carbon neutrality.
-- A bioplastics plant: Total Corbion PLA, a 50/50 joint venture between
Total and Corbion, will be constructing Europe's first PLA manufacturing
plant.
Entirely produced from sugar instead of oil, PLA is a bioplastic
that is biodegradable and recyclable. The market for PLA is growing
up to 15% annually. Demand is rising fast, particularly in the
markets for film wrap and rigid packaging and in numerous
industrial applications.
Partners since 2017 in the Total Corbion PLA 50/50 joint
venture, Total and Corbion successfully launched their first PLA
plant in Thailand in 2018 and have decided to invest in a new
European plant. Promising annual production capacity of 100,000
tons, this second plant will begin operations in 2024, making Total
Corbion PLA the world's biggest producer of PLA.
-- A plastics recycling plant: Total will be constructing France's first
chemical recycling plant with Plastic Energy (Total 60%, Plastic Energy
40%).
Based on a new innovative recycling technology, this plant will
convert plastic wastes into a liquid called TACOIL through a
pyrolysis melting process. This TACOIL will then be used as
feedstock for the production of polymers with identical properties
to virgin polymers. In particular, they will be suitable for use in
food-grade applications--a major criterion for food packaging
businesses.
The new unit will help Total meet its objective of producing 30%
of its polymers from recycled materials by 2030.
-- In addition, Total will be building two photovoltaic solar plants, one
with capacity of 28 MWp (at the Grandpuits site) and the other with
capacity of 24 MWp (at the Gargenville site), which will contribute to
Total's ambition to provide green electricity to all its industrial sites
in Europe.
The plants will be built and operated by Total Quadran, a
wholly-owned Total affiliate that specializes in renewable energy
development and production in France.
Under French law, the project is subject to the process for
notifying and consulting employee representatives.
Total is committed to pursuing meaningful dialogue with employee
representative organizations, and will be initiating discussions
with those bodies in late September.
***
About Total
Total is a broad energy company that produces and markets fuels,
natural gas and low-carbon electricity. Our 100,000 employees are
committed to better energy that is more affordable, more reliable,
cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in
more than 130 countries, our ambition is to become the responsible
energy major.
* * * * *
Cautionary Note
This press release, from which no legal consequences may be
drawn, is for information purposes only. The entities in which
TOTAL SE. directly or indirectly owns investments are separate
legal entities. TOTAL SE. has no liability for their acts or
omissions. In this document, the terms "Total", "Total Group" and
Group are sometimes used for convenience. Likewise, the words "we",
"us" and "our" may also be used to refer to subsidiaries in general
or to those who work for them.
This document may contain forward-looking information and
statements that are based on a number of economic data and
assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory
environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are
subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TOTAL SE. nor any of
its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends
contained in this document whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
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CONTACT: Total
Media Relations: +33 1 47 44 46 99 l presse@total.com l
@TotalPress
Investor Relations: +44 (0)207 719 7962 l ir@total.com
SOURCE: TOTAL
Copyright Business Wire 2020
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