France’s Fos-Lavera petrochem terminal has been cleared after 33 days of strike that paralyzed the country's petrochem industry. The protest at the Fos and Lavera oil terminals at Marseille stranded 38 crude carriers and 20 product tankers. Protests broke out at France’s ports on Sept. 27 and escalated over President Nicolas Sarkozy’s pension reform. As a result, France, the second-biggest refining center in Europe after Germany, was forced to halt production from at least 9 of 11 active facilities in France and one in Switzerland. France’s 11 active refineries can process 1.84 million barrels of oil a day, according to Bloomberg data. Oil companies began to halt production as early as Oct. 10 because of the strike actions.
As union tensions started to ebb, petrochemical players in France are slowly restarting their plants.
03-Nov-10 
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