The concern has won over the unions, employees and even elected officials in the sector. Are the days of the Total refinery in Grandpuits (Seine-et-Marne) numbered, as everyone fears? Threats of closure hang over the only refinery in Ile-de-France, while the site restarted barely two months ago following the health crisis.
At issue: the probable cost of replacement work on the Ile-de-France pipeline (Plif), estimated at more than 300 million euros by the CGT. This is the lower end of the estimate. According to our information, the upper range rises to 500 million euros.
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This pipeline cracked in February 2019, causing a 900 m 3 leak in the Yvelines. It is he who supplies the Grandpuits refinery with crude oil. Since the breach was plugged, the Plif has only been operating at 70% of its capacity.
A financial audit on the replacement of the Ile-de-France pipeline
A financial audit was therefore launched by Total concerning this possible work. The results should be known in the fall.
“We are awaiting a response from management,” comments Adrien Cornet, CGT delegate for the refinery. If there is repair, there will be no closure. If there is no repair, Total will shut down the units. We, all our information leads to believe that we will not repair the Plif. "
It was the arrival at Grandpuits of Michel Charton, the group's refining and chemicals director, in June, shortly after the restart, which was the source of these fears. "He told us that the Great Stop scheduled for 2021 could be called into question depending on the results of the financial audit", continues the unionist.
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Scheduled at least every six years, this Major Shutdown must allow maintenance work to guarantee the performance of the various units, as well as regulatory interventions and cleaning operations. If it does not take place, it is because Total no longer intends to operate the refinery.
"The market still exists"
“The establishment of a refinery in Seine-et-Marne is the result of a strategic economic choice: that of being able to meet the demand for fuel supply from a very large part of the Paris region, by being at most close to consumption needs, ”nevertheless writes Total on the refinery's website.
“The need of Ile-de-France residents for fuel is substantial and this is not about to change,” says Adrien Cornet. It is no coincidence that this refinery was built there. There is a market that still exists. When air traffic returns to normal, there will be a need for kerosene. If the refinery closes, it will be as much imported product. In fact, it is just a strategy of Total to relocate its refining capacities. "
This case will be the subject of return of Jean-Louis Thiériot (LR). The deputy for the third district of Seine-et-Marne recently appealed to the government in the National Assembly, without obtaining a precise answer. The elected representative requested a meeting with Patrick Pouyanné, the big boss of Total, for the month of September.
"It would be a disaster for the territory"
According to Jean-Louis Thiériot, the economic benefits of the refinery are colossal. "These are 400 jobs, of which 300 live in the sector," says the latter. Behind, there is the whole network of restaurants, lodges, hotels for engineers who come there on mission. It is the refinery that sustains them. "
The former president of the departmental council of Seine-et-Marne also thinks of SMEs “which depend on the refinery for 70-80% of their activity. Finally, there are large SMEs and subsidiaries such as Vermilion, which would have big problems to have its crude refined in the region and which has around 70 jobs in Saint-Méry and on a few other sites ... This can be a disaster for the territory. "
Total could reorient the activity
At Total, we confirm that the future of the refinery is above all linked to the future of Plif. "The long-term economic integrity of the Grandpuits refinery rests above all on the viability of the Île-de-France pipeline," admits a spokesperson for the company. Indeed, Total is not ready to work with units which do not present all the guarantees necessary for its proper functioning. But Total has no plans to close the Grandpuits site. "
In the future, Total could therefore reorient its activities in Seine-et-Marne. If some evoke the creation of a production unit of organic plastics, according to our information, it would be above all generally of so-called "low carbon" activities, without further details.
