With refinery workers on strike in France, over a quarter of the country's gas stations are running low on fuel. Consumer panic buying is worsening the fuel shortage. What impacts will this have on local production and daily life?

According to CNN, citing multiple sources from the French Prime Minister’s office, energy companies supplied 30% to 50% more fuel than usual this week; however, market demand surged by at least 20% compared with normal levels, driven largely by consumer panic buying. Additionally, on the 15th local time, French economic broadcaster BFM TV reported that Électricité de France (EDF) announced delays in restarting five of its nuclear reactors due to ongoing strikes at French nuclear power plants. The postponements range from one day to three weeks. Earlier media reports forecasted potential electricity shortages in France this winter, possibly forcing the country to import power from Germany or Spain. As a global leader in nuclear power, France’s electricity shortfall stems primarily from the fact that 26 of EDF’s 56 nuclear reactors remain offline—due to corrosion issues or maintenance requirements. On the 12th, French President Emmanuel Macron stated the government aims to bring the number of operational nuclear reactors up to 40 within the coming weeks and further increase it to 45 by January next year to resolve the electricity supply crisis. Over recent weeks, refining output at TotalEnergies’ and ExxonMobil’s French refineries has dropped by more than 60% due to worker strikes and unplanned maintenance, while fuel deliveries from storage depots have been disrupted. This has triggered widespread fuel shortages at gas stations across France and pushed up oil prices across the European market. Of France’s seven refineries, four remain shut down, as unions and management continue protracted negotiations over wages. According to insiders, even if the strike ends immediately, it would still take approximately one to two weeks for refineries to fully resume production. Some wholesale suppliers and farmers say they cannot wait that long. Joël Limouzin, vice president of an agricultural union, told AFP: “We’re deeply concerned—we need to sow now, during the optimal autumn planting window, not ten days or even a month from now.” According to CCTV News, as of the 13th local time, the refinery workers’ strike in France—now lasting over two weeks—continues. That evening, major French trade unions and youth organizations jointly issued a statement calling for a cross-sector strike on the 18th to maintain pressure on TotalEnergies, Esso-ExxonMobil, and the French government.

ExxonMobil Restarts Some Units at Its Joliet Refinery

ExxonMobil has begun restarting some units at its Joliet refinery in Illinois, three weeks after the facility was shut down. The 251,800-barrel-per-day refinery was forced offline in mid-July following a power outage caused by a storm. It produces approximately 9 million gallons of gasoline and diesel daily. At the time, an anonymous source close to the company told Reuters: “Situations like this take time to recover from, because they must assess whether any equipment sustained damage from the sudden shutdown.” Subsequent inspections revealed the outage had affected 16 units—including a vacuum distillation unit and a fluid catalytic cracking unit. The Joliet refinery’s shutdown widened the discount on crude oil ranging from Canadian heavy grades to West Texas Intermediate (WTI), as the facility is a major buyer of such crudes. However, news of its restart has narrowed the price differential, as increased demand is anticipated. At the time of writing, the discount had narrowed from roughly $15 per barrel to about $13 per barrel. Earlier this month, ExxonMobil posted its second-highest quarterly earnings in a decade, surpassing Wall Street expectations—driven by its acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, which boosted quarterly production to a record high and delivered the highest oil output since the merger of Exxon and Mobil.

Exxon Mobil's Joliet Refinery Reports Upset Due to Power Outage

Sep 14, 2026

Exxon Mobil's 264,000-barrel-per-day Joliet refinery experienced a power outage triggering a safety flare on Sunday. The disruption occurs amid tight global fuel markets, potentially exacerbating price pressures on gasoline and diesel supplies in the U.S. Midwest.

reuters

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