Ineos Writes Down Grangemouth Value

Ineos has lowered the book value of its petrochemical complex in Grangemouth, Scotland, from $640 million to nothing. The company says the chemical business at the site has lost $240 million over the past four years. Faced with dwindling supplies of natural gas from the North Sea, the site is running at 50% of capacity, Ineos claims. The company says it may have to close the complex when its gas contracts with BP expire in 2017. Ineos is looking for government grants and loan guarantees so it can build facilities allowing it to import gas from the U.S. instead.