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Paris (UPI) Oct 8, 2010 The roadblocks that closed the Fos-Lavera oil terminal to trucks have been taken down but strikers continued blocking sea access to France's largest oil port Friday. Dozens of tankers were waiting offshore Friday to load or unload crude as the strike at Fos-Lavera entered its 12th day. It has disrupted oil trade and refining at sites in France, Switzerland and Germany, keeping European prices for crude near 5-month highs, Dow Jones news wire reports. Officials from France's oil industry association have warned that several refineries, already running on reserve crude, will have to halt operations this weekend if the disruptions continue. Central France could experience fuel shortages as early as next weekend, observers say. Prices for gasoline have already soared and U.S. diesel tankers are steaming toward Europe to satisfy the demand. The CGT union had called for the strikes to protest a law on French port operations as well as the government's pension reform, which is aimed at gradually raising the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62 by 2018 and full retirement from 65 to 67 by 2023. Working its way through parliament, the bill has sparked nationwide protests. Unions have called for open-ended strikes starting next Tuesday, with the transport, power and refinery sector expected to grind to a halt. French President Nicolas Sarkozy Thursday announced an adjustment to the pension overhaul to ease the impact on women who stopped working to raise their children but the opposition denounced the amendment as a public relations move intended to appease strikers. Yet Sarkozy has vowed not to give in. Observers say the ongoing disruptions at Fos-Lavera, which may continue over the weekend, and the nationwide strike starting Tuesday could seriously affect the oil trade. Workers at a refinery inside Fos-Lavera run by British chemical company Ineos briefly stopped operating Thursday but the plant was back in limited business Friday, Dow Jones reports. Several refineries will have to close by Tuesday, when the nationwide strikes set in. The Cressier refinery in Switzerland, run by Petroplus, and a Miro-operated refinery in southwestern Germany are also fed from Fos-Lavera, but both sites might seek alternative supplies. A previous strike in December 2008 that lasted 11 days resulted in losses of $36 million, the refinery industry association UFIP said.
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