ExxonMobil to shut UK ethylene cracker

Faced with tough market conditions, US firm ExxonMobil has said it will close its Fife ethylene plant in Mossmorran, Scotland, in February 2026. A spokesman for the company said there was not a “competitive future” for the site because of the UK’s current economic and policy environment combined with market conditions.

Meanwhile, the BBC news reported the UK government has said it will not offer financial support to keep the Exxon Mobil plant at Mossmorran open.

Business Minister Chris McDonald said there was no realistic business plan to go with investment. He said ExxonMobil’s chairman Paul Greenwood had told him that the plant was inefficient and would need nearly £1bn of spending to make it profitable.

Hundreds of staff have been told their jobs are at risk as the petrochemical company prepares to close part of the site.

The Scottish government has said it would support workers, and the Grangemouth investment taskforce would be expanded to also consider the future of the Mossmorran site.

ExxonMobil said 179 directly employed jobs will be at risk, along with 250 contractors. There is a possibility of 50 staff transferring to the Fawley Petrochemical Complex 780 km away in Hampshire.

The site has produced ethylene for about 40 years through a process known as thermal or steam cracking.

ExxonMobil said it had been seeking a buyer for several months and it would clean up and then demolish the site once production ends.

Shell, which processes natural gas liquids on the Mossmorran site, said it was unaffected by the closure. Its operations at St Fergus in Aberdeenshire, which provides natural gas to the ExxonMobil facility at Mossmorran, were also unaffected, it added.

The closure of the plant, which had been a “cornerstone” of chemical production in the UK, reflected the challenges of operating in a policy environment that was “accelerating the exit of vital industries, domestic manufacturing, and the high-value jobs they provide”, an ExxonMobil spokesperson said.

A statement from the company said: ”We understand and regret the impact this will have on our loyal and valued workforce, contractors and local communities. Our priorities are now to support our people through this challenging period, while ensuring continued safe operations through to end of production.”