(Updated with a statement by an Elengy spokeswoman, 25.05.2016)
France’s Elengy, Europe’s second-largest LNG terminal operator, said that the company’s three LNG terminals have been affected by the ongoing strike in the country as workers are protesting due to proposed labor reforms.
Elengy, a unit of France’s utility and LNG player Engie, operates the Montoir-de-Bretagne LNG terminal on the French Atlantic coast and Fos Tonkin and Fos Cavaou on the shores of the Mediterranean.
According to an earlier report by Reuters, France’s largest workers union, CGT, said its members have blocked two LNG terminals starting midnight May 24, with Elengy’s workforce joining in the strike until midnight of May 26.
Elengy said on Tuesday that due to the staff strike, the company’s three LNG terminals were closed with no unloading operations taking place and no send-out to the French gas grid.
There were no changes on Thursday, and the operations halt will continue on May 25 and May 26, an Elengy spokeswoman confirmed to LNG World News in an emailed statement.
France has been hit by a wave of strikes, just three weeks before the Euro 2016 football tournament, aimed at forcing President Francois Hollande’s government to withdraw proposed new labor market rules.
Started in March, the strikes have gathered momentum over the last few weeks causing fuel supply disruption in France.
According to Reuters, France is currently suffering from major fuel shortages, with six out of the eight oil refineries in the country have either stopped operating or have reduced output. Train and metro strikes have been announced too.
LNG World News Staff