Ineos expands European plastics

Ineos Polyolefins plans to invest about $195 million over the next three years to expand polyolefins facilities in Europe. In Geel, Belgium, the company will expand its gas-phase polypropylene unit by about 75% to 500,000 metric tons per year. The company will close a smaller polypropylene line in Geel later this year. In Grangemouth, Scotland, the company will expand a liquid-pool polypropylene unit by 15% to 250,000 metric tons. And in Lillo, Belgium, it will expand a slurry-phase high-density polyethylene plant by about 50% to 630,000 metric tons. Ineos says it will close its Grangemouth high-density polyethylene plant by the end of the year unless business conditions change.