Since last weekend, Total's (Paris / France; www.total.com) refinery facilities are successively being shut down in Feyzin, a few kilometers south of Lyon / France. This is due to a large strike, with about 600 employees who are demanding better working conditions. An end to the walkout is not yet foreseen. The systems have to be shut down for safety reasons, says the director of the operator, AP Feyzin. This also affects the local downstream petrochemical plants around the cracker.

According to Plasteurope.com's Polyglobe database (www.polyglobe.net), AP Feyzin, a joint venture between Total and Ineos (Rolle / Switzerland; www.ineos.com), has capacities for 250,000 t/y of ethylene and 220,000 t/y of propylene at this site. There are additional capacities for benzene (110,000 t/y), butadiene (80,000 t/y) and toluene (50,000 t/y).