Responding to High Energy Prices, INEOS Idles Europe's Last World-Scale Acetyls Plant
INEOS recently announced that it is idling all three of its world-scale chemical plants in Hull, UK, as energy prices hit twelve times those in America. The three plants that are being idled are Europe’s last remaining world scale acetyls units producing the raw material for a huge range of the Europe’s critical materials, according to INEOS.
The company also reports that European gas prices have now hit twelve times the level of those in the United States and it has taken the difficult decision to mothball all three of the units until further notice. Due to repeated investment by INEOS in the Hull operations, these units are reportedly among the most efficient in the world and operate at the lowest possible level of CO2 emissions. INEOS reports that the Hull units produce material with a carbon footprint that is two times lower than that produced in the United States and eight times lower than Chinese material.
Sir 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 plants in Europe but with gas prices now 12 times the level in the U.S. and eight times that of China, we just cannot compete. Not only is the ridiculously high gas price destroying our manufacturing base and the jobs of hard-working people on Humberside, it is also massively increasing the environmental burden with replacement products supplied from the USA at double the carbon emissions and from China at eight times the emission 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 emissions from less efficient Chinese and U.S. production. The net result of these current policies is to encourage coal based production in China and the wholesale export of jobs to both China and the USA.”
Learn more about INEOS at ineos.com.
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