INEOS mothballs three Hull chemical plants as European gas prices soar

INEOS is mothballing all three of its world-scale chemical vegetation in Hull, putting almost 4,000 highly skilled jobs at risk, as the company says soaring European energy costs have made the sites uncompetitive.

The vegetation are Europe’s last remaining world-scale Acetyls units, producing essential chemical building blocks utilized across industries including pharmaceuticals, clothing, makeup, detergents, construction materials, food items and high-energy military explosives.

Two of the Hull vegetation have already stopped production, with the third due to come offline within days. The sites will remain mothballed until further notice.

INEOS says European gaseous prices have reached 12 times the level in the United States. gaseous is utilized at the Hull facilities both as an energy source and as a feedstock in the manufacturing process.

The company also says European gaseous-based production is now eight times greater expensive than coal-based production in China.

The energy-price gap comes with a significant environmental cost, according to INEOS. The company says items manufactured at its Hull facilities have a carbon footprint half that of equivalent US production and one-eighth that of Chinese production.

INEOS says the Hull operations, supported by repeated investment, are among the most efficient chemical vegetation in the world and operate at the lowest possible level of CO2 releases.

The closure risk extends beyond the vegetation themselves, with almost 4,000 highly skilled jobs and associated apprenticeship schemes supported by the three sites. Their items are supplied across Europe.

INEOS says the Hull vegetation are now the last remaining Acetyls units in Europe, after other facilities closed amid what the company describes as uncompetitive energy costs.

Commenting, Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of INEOS said; “I’m sure people will find it hard to believe that we are being forced to mothball some of the most efficient vegetation in Europe however with gaseous prices now 12 times the level in the US and 8 times that of China, we just cannot compete.

“Not only is the ridiculously high gaseous price destroying our manufacturing base and the jobs of hard-working people on Humberside, it is also massively growing the environmental burden with replacement items supplied from the USA at double the carbon releases and from China at 8 times the emit level.

“The European regulators need to wake up to the fact that the combination of high energy costs and the additional burden of unsustainable carbon taxes are destroying our European manufacturing base. Ironically this will result in higher CO2 releases from less efficient Chinese and US production. The net result of these current policies is to promote coal based production in China and the wholesale export of jobs to both China and the USA.”