French oil firm Total has suspended operations at their 22,000 barrels per day (b/d) refinery in Donges, France for the next few months owing to money losses attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Total
Union officials said operations would cease on Monday and would continue for up to four months, according to Reuters.
In a statement, Total said: "The COVID crisis has a negative impact on oil products demand, which causes a very sharp deterioration of refinery margins. In this context, the Donges refinery is operating at a loss."
"We have decided to halt it for the months to come, awaiting better economic conditions.”
The facility is currently undergoing a €450 million "modernisation" project which is set to continue and Total is set to begin renovation of another plant in the near future.
The European oil industry has been reeling under the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Threats of a second lockdown have caused oil prices to drop again after the first lockdown brought the industry to its knees.
A new Covid-19 vaccine has perked up the industry slightly, but the government across the globe are tendering their post-pandemic recovery schemes by initiating a transition away from traditional fossil fuels, which could cause the industry to continue to slump into the future.
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