Olefins and polylefins giant Ineos has been in the headlines frequently in recent weeks, with topics ranging from M&A, new plant construction, utility vehicle manufacture and sports team sponsorship to criticism of overregulation and “green taxes.”  

In the most recent news, an executive said the Swiss-based group is looking at further expansion of its high density polyethylene (HDPE) capability in the US and is weighing plans for another world-scale unit on the Gulf Coast.

In the UK, Ineos has been in the spotlight for its attempt to gain exemptions from anti-pollution rules and for its evident success in getting permission to close a public road.

Michael Nagle, head of the Ineos Olefins & Polymers USA segment, told the ICIS news agency the group is very satisfied with the performance of its 470,000 t/y bimodal HDPE plant started up at the end of 2017 as part of 50:50 joint venture with South Africa’s Sasol and wants to build on that success.

Nagle did not comment on where demand for additional polyethylene volumes was being seen – persistent reports say the market is headed toward saturation – or whether there were any plans to export. 

The executive said Ineos is currently debottlenecking its ethylene production on the Gulf Coast. An expansion at Chocolate Bayou, Louisiana, is designed to lift capacity by around 15% to just over 2 million t/y.

In polypropylene, the group is looking at debottlenecking capacity over the next 24 months. Figures show Ineos with1.2 million t/y of HDPE capacity and 750- 775,000 t/ of PP capacity on the US Gulf Coast.

Saber rattling over possible UK plant closure

As the UK heads for the EU’s exit door, reports say Ineos has left the future of its acrylonitrile (ADN) plant at Seal Sands dangling.

In a letter to UK business secretary Greg Clark last October, published this week by the London newspaper The Times, Ineos director Tom Crotty suggested that the group might close the plant unless it is allowed to “defer compliance” with EU anti-pollution rules.

Crotty said Ineos faces a €100m bill to upgrade its technology to comply with the EU’s Waste Incineration Directive and Waste Water Emission Directive but “cannot justify” the investment required to comply with the rules, as the plant is just breaking even.

If UK authorities were to enable Ineos to avoid compliance, this “would protect employment for the foreseeable future and avoid a potentially damaging closure on Teesside,” Crotty’s letter noted.

In an analysis of data obtained from the UK Environment Agency (EA) via a freedom of information request, Greenpeace’s Unearthed investigations unit said the plant violated environmental permits 176 times between 2014 and 2017, with 90 of the violations related to air and water emissions.

Unearthed quotes an EA spokesperson as saying “air emissions are well over legal limits and this poses a risk to the environment,”  while at the same time adding, “we know that the company is a major operator on Teesside and we are working with them to ensure they can reduce their emissions to safe levels.”

The Greenpeace unit said Ineos has already secured derogations to air pollution limits at its Grangemouth site in Scotland.

Grangemouth road closure permit seems certain

Also at Grangemouth, local newspaper Falkirk Herald said the Scottish government has decided to allow Ineos to close a public road that runs through its production site, overriding the local council’s objections as well as the concerns of the government’s own planning board.

If its plans are finally approved, Ineos will be able to build two security gatehouses and security fencing on a section of Bo’ness Road as a preliminary step toward closing the road permanently.

The chemical group had argued it needed to close the road as a safety measure as it tries to attract other companies to invest at its complex. According to the paper, the Scottish ministers cited economic factors and security as two main reasons for granting permission.

A 150-meter stretch of the highway was closed in March 2015 to facilitate work on a pipe bridge in preparation for a new storage tank as part of a £450 million site upgrade designed in particular to facilitate imports of US shale-gas derived ethane.

The road was reopened following the work, but Ineos repeatedly called for it to be closed again. The local council passed the decision to the Scottish government. Local commuters complained that a road closure would necessitate a time-consuming detour. Some also questioned a company’s right to close a public road.