Total delays €200 million biodiesel refinery

Reuters has reported that French oil & gas firm Total has chosen to delay its planned biodiesel refinery, named La Mede, until the first quarter of 2019. The news agency cites the company’s chief financial officer.

The refinery is estimated to have a capacity of 500,000 tonnes of biodiesel.

In June of this year, Biofuels International reported that the planned refinery had been met with opposition after France’s largest union had called for a nationwide blockade in response to the facility’s intended use of imported palm oil.

Originally scheduled to start in the summer of 2018, the refinery has cost Total upwards of €200 million.

Despite this, the project is set to be coupled with a plan for continuous improvement of the company’s energy efficiency, with the objective of reducing energy consumption by 8% before 2020.