MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ineos Grangemouth plant is likely to be shut down in the next three years if it continues losing over GBP100 million every year, as per Ineos chairman of Olefins and Polymers Europe, said Plastemart.
The main reasons for the massive losses are the decline in North Sea petrochemical feedstocks and the site’s pension scheme deficit of GBP200 million, two issues Ineos is now working to address. Mr Maclean said: "The plant has to become more cost effective".
Ineos has invested GBP1 billion in the Grangemouth site since 2006, but over the last three years the whole site has been losing around GBP150 million annually and that is forecast to continue. The feedstock gas from the North Sea is declining. Though this is a modern asset, it continues to run at 50% because of the lack of feedstocks. Lack of alternative feedstock to supplement the North Sea supply will result in the petrochemical side of the business not continuing beyond 2017.
Ineos are looking to source shale gas from the USA to solve this problem and get the cracker operating at 100%, but this would require an investment of GBP150 million to prepare the site for that feedstock and a further GBP200 million to offset the losses while the required new tanker facility is being built.
INEOS Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
MRC