Oil exceeds $80 as French set upon hits supply

Carl Mortished World Business Editor & , : {}

The cost of wanton oil exceeded $80 per tub yesterday as a set upon by refinery workers in France in jeopardy to widespread opposite the country.

Motorists queued for fuel at French motor fuel stations as workers at Exxons dual French refineries and staff at a refinery owned by Ineos, the British containing alkali company, voted to set upon in await of the Total workers.

The hazard of European shortages and sabre-rattling in the Gulf has pushed up the cost of US wanton by roughly 8 per cent over the past week, rising yesterday to $80.51 prior to slipping behind to $79.74.

More than 100 French motor fuel stations yesterday reported shortages since of the walkout, that is in criticism opposite the programmed shutdown of Totals trickery in Dunkirk. The CGT kinship pronounced outlay from Totals 6 refineries that comment for only over half of Frances fuel production capacity, would finish by today. UFIP, the French inorganic substance industry lobby, pronounced that prior to the set upon reserve were enough to last for ten days.

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President Sarkozy has called a assembly with Thierry Desmarest, the authority of Total.

The hazard of shortages in France led to a convene in the motor fuel and heating oil mark markets in Rotterdam but the set upon is unlikely, over the longer term, to affect a outrageous European over-abundance in oil products, analysts said.

Total wants to close the Dunkirk trickery to branch waste at the French refineries, that the association says cost it €100 million (�87 million) a month. Margins in the enlightening zone have been dejected by diseased direct in America and Europe at a time when the supply of fuel products is expanding in Asia.