INEOS Group officially announced on September 22 that it is fully shutting down its three world-scale acetyl plants in Hull, UK, placing them in mothballed status until further notice. Two of the three units have already ceased operations, with the third to be taken offline within days. INEOS did not provide a timeline for transitioning to permanent closure but made clear that restarting depends on securing affordable natural gas prices and a reasonable carbon tax environment.
The Hull site directly employs 245 people, with nearly 4,000 additional high-skilled jobs in the Humberside region's supply chain dependent on the site's operations. The associated apprenticeship training system supports the region's chemical industry talent pipeline.
The three plants have a combined capacity of 500,000 tonnes per year of acetic acid, 150,000 tonnes per year of acetic anhydride, and 200,000 tonnes per year of ethyl acetate. Located at the Saltend chemical park on a 370-acre site, they constitute Europe's last remaining world-scale acetyl production cluster, with all other similar facilities having already shut down due to energy cost disadvantages. Their products are used in pharmaceuticals, food preservatives, textiles, cosmetics, detergents, building materials, and military high explosives, with sales covering all of Europe.
INEOS pointed out that European natural gas prices are currently 12 times those in the United States and 8 times those in China. These plants use natural gas both as an energy source and as a feedstock in the production process, creating a dual cost pressure that directly erodes competitiveness.
Chairman Jim Ratcliffe used unusually strong language in his statement, saying the company was forced to mothball one of Europe's most efficient plants, but that it simply cannot compete at this price level. He further noted that "shutting down Hull capacity will not reduce global emissions — replacing it with American and Chinese products doubles the carbon footprint. The net effect for Europe is pushing production to regions with higher carbon intensity while exporting jobs wholesale to China and the US."
INEOS had previously invested £30 million to retrofit the Hull facility to be hydrogen-ready, reducing carbon emissions by 75% compared to before the upgrade. But instead of earning policy incentives for this emissions reduction achievement, the plant faced a £23 million carbon credit penalty. In a June 2025 announcement, INEOS directly called this "madness," questioning whether the UK government genuinely wants to support British manufacturing in leading decarbonization.
In October 2025, INEOS had already cut 20% of jobs at the Hull acetyl plant — 60 positions — also citing energy costs and cheap import pressure. David Brooks, CEO of INEOS Acetyls, said at the time that the company "explored every possible alternative" but had "no choice" given sustained energy cost pressure combined with "unfair low-priced imports." The UK government responded at the time that the chemical industry was bearing a "fossil fuel penalty," with wholesale electricity prices still 75% higher than before the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Acetyl materials are foundational feedstocks for the fine chemicals industry. Following the exit of Hull capacity, Europe's upstream and downstream supply chains will become heavily dependent on imports, with imported sources having far higher carbon intensity than the domestic facilities being shut down. This move by INEOS marks the complete exit of Europe's domestic large-scale acetyl chemical production capacity from the market.
