Total refinery in Germany declares force majeure on product shipments

LONDON: Total's 230,000 barrel-per-day Leuna refinery in Germany has declared force majeure on refined product shipments as a result of the contamination of Russian Urals crude, three trade sources said on Thursday.

The refinery usually receives Urals crude oil via the Druzbha pipeline.

Industry monitor Genscape said on Thursday it detected "abnormal emissions" at the plant, and decreased furnace stack activity on the 112,000 bpd vacuum distillation unit. "Activity from all other monitored units has remained at operational levels," Genscape said.

Last month, Russian pipeline operator Transneft suspended crude flows through the pipeline after the oil was found to be contaminated with high levels of organic chloride. Refiners in Europe were left scrambling for alternatives.