Ineos Unveils Grangemouth Plan

Ineos released what it calls a “survival plan” for its Grangemouth, Scotland, refining and petrochemical complex. The company claims the site is losing $16 million a month and will close in 2017 unless the plan is adopted. Ineos is willing to invest $500 million at the site. It is also seeking $200 million in loan guarantees and grants from the U.K. government. The money would go toward construction of an ethane terminal in Grangemouth so it could import cheap ethane feedstocks from the shale-gas-rich U.S. The company is also planning an ethane terminal at its Rafnes, Norway, site. Additionally, Ineos’ plan calls for the closure of some units at Grangemouth as well as layoffs and modifications to its pension plan. “We don’t have a plan B,” noted Calum MacLean, chairman of the Grangemouth operations.