ExxonMobil Investing $174 Million in Scottish Ethylene Plant

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--ExxonMobil Chemical, a unit of Exxon Mobil Corporation (ExxonMobil) (NYSE:XOM) (Irving, Texas), has announced plans to spend £140 million ($173 million) to make improvements at its 830,000-tonne/year ethylene plant in Fife, Scotland.

Part of the money will be used to reduce the impact of flaring, including a state-of-the-art flare tip, which will reduce noise and vibration. The Mossmorran site in Fife, which is shared by ExxonMobil Chemical and Shell Fife NGL, is one of Europe's largest ethylene plants and officially opened in 1986. Around half of the ethylene produced is distributed via the U.K. ethylene pipeline network, with the rest pumped to Braefoot Bay Marine Terminal on the Firth of Forth where it is stored as a liquid at -103 degrees Celsius and shipped to Antwerp.

The investment will help upgrade key infrastructure and introduce new technologies that will significantly improve operational reliability and performance, ExxonMobil announced.

"These planned investments demonstrate our commitment to long-term reliable operations at the site," said Jacob McAlister, plant manager at the Fife ethylene plant. "While already one of the most modern plants of its kind in Europe, we are always looking for ways to improve reliability and efficiency through continued maintenance and investment in new technologies. Fife has a long-term future as a competitive asset, contributing to both the local and national economies."

The project will support approximately 850 local construction jobs and benefit 40 local suppliers. "We are committed to the highest operational and regulatory standards," said McAlister. "This investment further contributes to the local economy and across Scotland through job creation and procurement contracts."

The plant had to be temporality shut down in August after a high volume of flaring when two out of the three boilers that supply steam to the plant failed. The plant has received a lot of negative media attention in recent months over the flaring issues.

The investment in Fife comes at a time when ExxonMobil has made some other major commitments to its U.K. operations. Earlier this month Industrial Info reported that the company was set to move ahead with its proposed £800 million ($1 billion) overhaul of the U.K.'s largest refinery, Fawley, following permission from local authorities. Fawley, home to Esso Petroleum Company and ExxonMobil Chemical, has a mile-long marine terminal that handles around 2,000 ship movements and 22 million tonnes of crude oil and other products every year. The refinery processes about 270,000 barrels of crude oil a day--20% of U.K. refinery capacity--and approximately one in six cars in the U.K. run on fuel produced there. For additional information, see October 1, 2018, article - ExxonMobil's $1 Billion Upgrade of U.K.'s Largest Refinery Gets Green Light.

In May, ExxonMobil finished a major project to expand its specialty elastomers manufacturing plant in Newport, Wales, which boosted the company's global manufacturing capacity of Santoprene thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) by 25%. For additional information, see August 21, 2018, article - ExxonMobil Doubles Capacity for Specialty Elastomers in U.K..

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.