Ineos pauses Hull plant work amid Ratcliffe blast

Ineos is pausing production at its three Hull plants.

The company’s billionaire owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has blamed higher UK gas prices for the move, saying they are “destroying” its manufacturing base.

Bosses say two plants had already ceased production, with the third set to be paused in the next few days.

Energy minister Michael Shanks has called on Sir Jim “to be part of the solution” and work with the Government on its reindustrialisation plans.

Ineos says all staff will remain in work, owing to operational demands, and says no redundancies are planned.

It is understood around 1000 employees based at Humber-based Saltend Chemicals Park will be affected by the move, of which about 240 are directly employed by Ineos.

Ineos added there could be a knock-on impact to a further 3000 jobs across the Humberside supply chain.

Founder and chair Sir Jim said Ineos was “being forced to mothball some of the most efficient plants in Europe", adding “but with gas prices now 12 times the level in the US and eight times that of China, we just cannot compete”.

He blamed “ridiculously high” prices for “destroying our manufacturing base and the jobs of hard-working people on Humberside”.

Gas is used as energy and to power production processes at the Hull plants, which make three key types of chemicals – acetic acid, acetic anhydride and ethyl acetate – which are used in a range of everyday items including household cleaning products, packaging, plastics, aspirin, paracetamol and paints.

UK natural gas prices have roughly doubled between July and September, recently reaching the highest level since December 2022, largely thanks to the US-Israel war in Iran and disruption to oil and gas supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

Sir Jim has been highly critical of the challenges facing the chemical industry, which he says are being worsened by Government energy and tax policy, including a levy on carbon emissions.

Responding to Sir Jim’s claims, a Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: “While this is a commercial decision from Ineos, we know this will be a concerning time for workers in Saltend and their families.

“We’ve taken bold action to support our chemicals industry, including £350 million for important chemicals producers, which will be available on a co-investment basis.

“We’ve also put trade measures in place on foreign chemicals imports and are tackling high electricity costs via our Supercharger and British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme to keep our chemicals sector competitive.”

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