French integrated oil and gas group Total SA said Wednesday that it plans to shut down a loss-making steam-cracker in Carling, Eastern France, cutting 210 jobs through attrition.
French integrated oil and gas group Total SA said Wednesday that it
plans to shut down a loss-making steam-cracker in Carling,
Eastern
France
, cutting 210 jobs through attrition.
The steam-cracker, which refines crude oil into chemical components to make
plastics, is to be shut in the second half of 2015, as part of a reshuffling of
the industrial site, the company said in a statement.
Total also said that it intends to invest 160 million euros ($211 million) in
the Carling site in a bid to "adapt the petrochemical platform" and
"restore its competitiveness."
The investments at the site will include the creation of a thermoplastics unit,
making innovative plastics for the car industry, the reinforcement of its
polystyrene production and an upgrade of its polyethylene production unit.
Following the closure of the steam-cracker from 2016, the site will employ 344 people,
including 110 positions set to be created by the new production units.
Total Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Christophe de Margerie said last
week that the group, which is seeking to boost profitability for its downstream
activities such as refining and chemical making, was planning some
restructuring in
France
.
Total has already shut down one of the two steam-crackers at Carling, in 2009.
The company has been grappling over the past five years with falling refining
margins and weakening demand for oil-refined products against the backdrop of
the economic crisis in
Europe
and
tough competition from low-cost basic chemical-makers from emerging countries. Mr.
de Margerie said earlier this summer that it could well trim further refining
capacity in
France
,
should margins keep declining and demand continue to fall.
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