Sabic to permanently shut down UK cracker plant

Posted on July 2, 2025

Sabic to permanently shut down UK cracker plant

Chemicals giant Sabic has announced the closure of its site in north-east England. The Saudi Arabian firm, one of the world’s largest petrochemical manufacturers, will shut its Olefins 6 cracker plant in Wilton, Teesside, after 46 years. The Teesside Olefins 6 cracker facility produces ethylene to make building blocks for a variety of products.

The firm confirmed that the LDPE plant operations in Teesside would continue to operate normally.

The exact number of job losses is not yet known but the firm currently employs 330 people at the site.

Sabic said, “The company regrets this decision which has been communicated today to employees and external stakeholders. This decision is the result of a thorough analysis aimed at optimizing competitiveness and aligning with Sabic’s long term strategic priorities to ensure the company remains agile and resilient in an evolving global landscape.”

It also added that it is committed to carrying out a meaningful collective consultation with employee representatives and a fair redundancy process consistent with applicable legal requirements, as well as implementing other support measures aimed at minimising the impact on employees.

The firm made a net profit of almost £300 million last year but last month it was reported that Sabic could be looking to sell its European petrochemicals business amid high energy costs.

The company produces chemicals, fertilisers, plastics and metals at its plant in Wilton, near Redcar, but also has storage and logistics facilities in North Tees and Teesport.

The Olefins 6 facility had been offline since the end of 2020 and was due to be converted to run entirely on gas feedstocks. The closure follows months of speculation and comes after Sabic paused a multimillion-pound investment project that would have converted the facility to run entirely on gas feedstocks. That project was halted in 2024 due to uncertain market conditions.

Sabic said the decision to shut the plant was also down to ensuring “the company [remained] agile and resilient in an evolving global landscape”.

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