The La Mède refinery is a biorefinery that previously operated as a traditional fossil fuel refinery owned by

TotalEnergies TotalEnergies SE is a French Multinational corporation, multinational integrated energy and List of oil exploration and production companies, petroleum company founded in 1924 and one of the seven Big Oil, supermajor oil companies. Its businesses ...

in Châteauneuf-les Martigues near

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, France, and on the Etang de Berre. The plant includes about 250 hectares. The biorefinery has a capacity of 500,000 tones of biofuels ( hydrotreated vegetable oil) a year. The plant conversion, started in 2015, finished in 2019 with EUR 275 million of capital expenditure. In 2021, the plant announced production of

aviation biofuel An aviation biofuel or bio-jet fuel Note: About">Investable Universe>About' or bio-aviation fuel (BAF) is a biofuel used to power aircraft and is said to be a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The International Air Transport Association (IATA) co ...

made from cooking oil. A 2018 agreement with the French government capped the amount of

palm oil production Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

at the facility at 300 000 tonnes, while requiring at least 50 000 tonnes of French-grown rapeseed oil. Environmental activists have criticized the plant for its reliance on

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

, which has a track record of global environmental destruction and human rights violations. Local farmers represented by

Fédération nationale des syndicats d'exploitants agricoles The Fédération nationale des syndicats d'exploitants agricoles (English: National Federation of Agricultural Holders' Unions) is a French umbrella organisation charged with the national representation of 20,000 local agricultural unions and 22 re ...

also expressed concerns about palm oil competing with local oil production.

History

The plant entered operation in 1935 as a crude oil and petrochemical plant. The plant stopped production of petroleum in 2016. In 1992 the plant had a

gas explosion A gas explosion is an explosion resulting from mixing a gas, typically from a gas leak, with air in the presence of an ignition source. In household accidents, the principal explosive gases are those used for heating or cooking purposes such as nat ...

References

Oil refineries in France {{France-stub