LyondellBasell's Berre refinery and petrochemical site restarts after two week strike

11-Oct-11

LyondellBasell's Berre refinery and petrochemical site in France are in the process of restarting Monday after a strike that started nearly two weeks ago in protest against the decision to close the refinery, as per Platts. "Refining, olefins and polymers units at Berre will be restarted over the next few days," the company said in a statement, adding that the workers had "agreed to end their strike and return to work on Monday." The restart process should take "around a week," a union source said. The site has restarted following an agreement reached between the union and management that, after mothballing the refinery, LyondellBasell will not dismantle it for a period of two years. It will be kept ready for a restart until December 2013. Should a viable offer be received during that period, this would provide an opportunity to divest the refinery," LyondellBasell said, noting that it is "not reopening the sales process." The decision to permanently close the 105,000 bpd Berre refinery in the south of France came after the company failed to find a buyer for the plant. However, LyondellBasell plans to continue operating its petrochemical assets at the Berre site, which include a steam cracker and polypropylene and polyethylene units.