MP challenges Tories' decision to act as guarantor for Ineos site in Antwerp

Project One will import import fracked gas from the US, to provide the ethane for the cracker plant that will produce 1450 kilotons of ethylene, which is the building black of plastic, a year.

In a letter to the Department for Business and Trade, Mr Day asked the Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch to explain the Tories reasoning behind this decision “at a time of great uncertainty” for the Ineos’ site in Grangemouth.

In March, Ineos announced that it was looking to close its ethanol plant at the Grangemouth petrochemicals complex by the first quarter of 2025.

The proposed closure is in response to a reduction in demand for ethanal in Europe along with increasing pressure from imports of ethanol from other regions, which has led the business at Grangemouth to run at a loss for several years.

It follows a previous announcement in November that Petroineos, a joint venture involving Ineos, plans to shut down the neighbouring Grangemouth refinery which is being converted into a fuel import terminal.

Petroineos announced the potential cessation of refining activities at the 150,000 barrels per day facility by 2025. This transition is anticipated to result in the loss of 400 out of the current 500 jobs at the refinery.

During a government hearing held in December, the company stated that approximately 50 positions will be necessary for the decommissioning and demolition process over a span of three years.