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Collombey, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The large Tamoil refinery in Collombey, canton Valais, announced Wednesday 10 June that it is closing. Police from the cantons of Valais and Vaud had raided the offices of the  refinery 9 June, citing repeated violations of environmental laws.

Libyan-owned Tamoil is one of Switzerland’s major providers of crude oil, importing 2.5 million tons, or 20% of Switzerland’s needs, according to federal government figures in 2008. Oil imports from Libya were halted for several weeks following the July 2008 arrest of Hannibal Qaddafi, the Libyan leader’s son, in Geneva. Relations between the two countries have been tense since then, with two Swiss engineers held in Tripoli, Libya for nearly a year, despite diplomatic efforts that include a visit by Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey in May 2009.

The refinery has been cited numerous times for allowing effluents to leak into the Rhone river, Le Temps (Fre) reports, and there has been increasing pressure for authorities to take action. Local environmental groups and the environmental protection office of Valais have called repeatedly for the authorities to take stronger measures to control what they see as serious pollution of the groundwater and the Rhone river.

The unions representing workers there were not informed by management of the decision, and they do not know how long the plant will be closed, according to TSR (Fre). NZZ (Ger) reports that neither the reasons for the closure nor its duration were given.

Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi arrived in Rome, Italy,  yesterday on unrelated business.

Background:

• “Libya-Swiss breakthrough possible in 300 days Libya hostage case” 4 June 2009, GenevaLunch

• Tamoil’s web page on the history of the Collombey refinery