INEOS, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of chemicals and oil products (headquartered in London), is to invest £1 billion in the UK in multiple projects “designed to ensure its British assets stay world-class for a generation”.
The biggest investment it has announced is in the Forties Pipeline System (FPS). This will see £500 million invested to extend the life of the pipeline by at least 20 years (into the 2040s).
INEOS intends to overhaul the reliability of the 500km pipeline system to meet the needs of North Sea oil and gas producers.
Opened in 1975, FPS can transport up to 600,000 barrels of North Sea oil onshore for refining every day (the pipeline transports 40% of the UK’s oil and gas to the mainland).
Andrew Gardner, INEOS FPS CEO, (
www.ineos.com) said: “North Sea oil and gas producers are telling us that they want to be in the North Sea well into the 2040s, so we are making this commitment to be there with them.
"Following the acquisition of FPS in 2017, we are now embarking on a period of investment to guarantee that the system can support them for decades to come.”
The second INEOS investment is another chapter in the “renaissance” of the Grangemouth site, where £350 million will allow for the development of a new steam and power plant, delivering significantly improved energy efficiency and long-term reliability.
Tobias Hannemann, CEO of O&P UK (Europe’s number-one producer of ethylene), said: “This investment forms part of our wider plans to secure a bright future for manufacturing at Grangemouth and will continue its renaissance as a world-class petrochemicals site while supporting the refinery, FPS and wider UK economy.”
In addition, INEOS will invest £150 million in Hull to construct a new Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) plant. This will bring the production of an important raw material back to the UK. The capacity of the site is expected to be 300,000 tonnes per year.
VAM is a key component in a wide range of important high-end products, including laminated windscreens, toughened glass, adhesives, coatings, films, textiles and carbon fibre.
Jim Ratcliffe, INEOS founder and chairman, said: “INEOS is a supporter of British manufacturing, and this £1 billion investment underlines our confidence in our business in the UK. These investments will ensure that our UK assets continue to be world-class for many years to come.”