Ineos Plans to Shut Down a Units in Belgium

On November 29, Ineos announced that it plans to close a PTA unit in its integrated paraxylene (PX) and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) production facility in Hull, Antwerp, Belgium. According to Ineos, the unit has been out of production since 2022 and a review of its long-term prospects has been under way for some time.

Ineos said that despite the company's best efforts to make the unit competitive, difficult market conditions made matters difficult. INEOS will now begin consultations with affected employee representatives to mitigate the impact of the plans, including looking at opportunities to reroute work within other activities at the Hull site where possible. According to them, the company's customers will not be affected by the shutdown of this unit because the second larger, newer and more efficient PTA unit at the production base will continue to operate.

Ineos mentioned in its public news that the main reasons for shutting down the device are: Increases in energy, raw material and labor costs have made European production increasingly uncompetitive against exports of newly commissioned PTA and derivatives capacity in Asia.

Steve Dorsett, CEO of INEOS Aromatics, said: "This has been a difficult decision. High energy and operating costs put European PTA production at a very disadvantageous position compared with exporters in Asia, because Asian exporters can benefit from discounts on Russian hydrocarbons. "