Petrochemicals company INEOS has plans to spend £1 billion ($1.33 billion) on U.K. energy assets, including the Forties pipeline, which carries almost half of Britain’s oil and gas from the North Sea.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, INEOS founder and chairman, said, “INEOS is a supporter of British manufacturing and this £1 billion investment underlines our confidence in our business in the United Kingdom. These investments will ensure that our U.K. assets continue to be world class for many years to come.”
INEOS said it would invest £500 million ($666 million) on overhauling its aging Forties pipeline, which has been in service since 1975 and can carry up to 600,000 barrels per day of oil. And approximately £350 million ($466 million) in a new energy plant at the 200,000 barrels per day Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland, and an additional £150 million ($200 million) in a new petrochemicals facility in the northern English city of Hull.
“North Sea oil and gas producers are telling us that they want to be in the North Sea well into the 2040s so we are making this commitment to be there with them,” said Andrew Gardner, INEOS FPS CEO. "Following acquisition of FPS in 2017, we are now embarking on a period of investment that will guarantee that the system can support them for decades to come.”
In May 2018, Ratcliffe was named Britain's richest man, with assets totaling £21 billion ($28 billion), according to the Sunday Times rich list. He founded INEOS in 1998 and still owns two-thirds of t
