Refinery conversion and closures: this is the shortest summary of things happening in the downstream industry right now. With the pandemic wreaking havoc on oil—and fuel—demand, refiners have found themselves not simply saddled with excessive stocks but facing a future that is shaping up to be quite different from the past. In recent months, French Total announced the conversion of its La Mede refinery in southern France into a biofuels plant with a capacity of 500,000 tons per year. “Biofuels are fully renewable, and an immediately available solution to cut carbon emissions from ground and air transportation,” Total’s president for refining and chemicals operations, Bernard Pinatel, said at the time, as quoted by Reuters. The remark illustrates one of the drivers of this change that has driven all European oil companies to make major commitments in the field of renewable energy while moving away from their core business. Everyone […]