Total plans to invest more than €500m to convert its 101,000 bbl/d Grandpuits refinery in Seine-et-Marne (France) into a zero-crude platform. Crude oil refining at the platform will be discontinued in the first quarter of 2021 and the storage of petroleum products will end in late 2023. The new platform will produce renewable diesel primarily intended for the aviation industry from 2024; the 400,000 t/year biofuel plant should produce 170,000 t/year of aviation biofuels, 120,000 t/year of road biofuels and 50,000 t/year of bionaphtha to produce bioplastics, from animal fats, cooking oils and vegetable oils (excluding palm oil). The new plant will also produce bioplastics and recycle plastics, and will include 2 solar PV power plants rated 24 MW and 28 MW to reduce emissions from its operations.
The refinery was forced to shut down for more than 5 months in 2019 when a leak appeared on the 260-km Ile-de-France pipeline (PLIF), which carries crude oil from the port of Le Havre to the Grandpuits refinery, following an earlier leak near Le Havre in 2014. As a result, the PLIF’s maximum working pressure was reduced to ensure safe operation. Consequently, the refinery could operate at only 70% of its capacity, threatening its economic viability. Replacing the PLIF pipeline would require nearly €600m in investment, prompting Total to consider stopping oil refining and converting the site to biofuels.
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