Key facts
- Ineos is idling three UK chemical plants in Hull due to high gas prices.
- Owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe stated the company is being 'forced' to pause production.
- The company warned that Europe is losing its last remaining world-scale Acetyls units.
- UK gas prices are reportedly 12 times higher than in the US.
- Up to 1,000 staff will be affected by the production pause.
- Ineos claims its UK plants have a lower carbon footprint than US and Chinese rivals.
Ineos is idling three of its plants in Hull, UK, as soaring natural gas prices in Europe make operations uncompetitive, the chemicals giant said on Tuesday. The company warned that with the idling of these plants, Europe is losing its last remaining world-scale Acetyls units, which produce raw materials for a wide range of critical materials including pharmaceuticals, clothing, cosmetics, detergents, construction materials, and military explosives.
"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 US and 8 times that of China, we just cannot compete," said Ineos chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe. The Monaco-based billionaire claimed that gas prices in the UK were 12 times higher than in the US and eight times more expensive than the coal increasingly used by chemical plants in China.
The move will impact up to 1,000 staff, with 240 people directly employed by the company across the three sites. Ineos claims its Humberside plants are among the most efficient globally, with half the carbon footprint of US rivals and one-eighth that of Chinese equivalents. Production has already been paused at two of the Humberside plants and the third is due to come offline in a few days.
Ratcliffe also said that the UK government’s energy policy was “leading to economic vandalism on an industrial scale” by losing jobs to China and the US. A government spokesperson said ministers had taken “bold action” to support the UK’s chemicals industry, including the launch of a £350m co-investment scheme and trade measures on foreign chemicals imports. The spokesperson added that the government was preparing to tackle high electricity costs via a pair of discount schemes for manufacturers.