Eni SpA planned this week to resume normal operations at its refinery in Livorno, Italy, after employees agreed to end picketing that had disrupted the facility, Reuters reported. The refinery includes one of Western Europes largest base stock plants.
According to a Sept. 21 Reuters article, the employees began picketing the week of Sept. 6 to protest the possibility that jobs would be cut. Eni is trying to sell the Livorno facility, one of five refineries in Italy that the company wholly owns. It has a 50 percent stake in a sixth.
The picketing had blocked loading and unloading of cargoes, Reuters reported, but unions called them off after the company agreed to meet with government officials to discuss further investment in the refinery. The company also agreed to maintain current job levels. Before the agreement was reached unions had decided to stage a 10-day strike beginning Sept. 24.
By the beginning of this week the company had already resumed some operations, such as the base oil and fuel cycle units. Officials told the news agency that they expected all operations to resume by Sept. 23.
The base oil plant has capacity to make 11,200 barrels per day of API Group I base stocks, making it the third-largest in Western Europe.
Eni did not respond to Lube Reports requests for comments by press time.