Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS announced on Tuesday, September 22, that it is suspending operations at three chemical plants in Hull, UK, supporting almost 4,000 jobs. The company blamed high European gas prices and unsustainable carbon taxes for making production too expensive.
Ineos Suspends Operations at Hull Chemical Facilities
Chemicals giant INEOS is idling its three chemical plants in Hull, dealing a blow to the UK manufacturing base. Two of the three plants have already ceased production, with the final facility scheduled to go offline within days, according to the industrial company’s announcement. The suspension threatens almost 4,000 highly skilled jobs across Humberside.
The affected sites produce chemicals that feed into a range of critical supply chains. These include medicines, clothing, cosmetics, detergents, building materials, and explosives, as reported by financial news platforms tracking the industrial fallout.
Soaring Energy Costs and Carbon Taxes Force Shutdowns
At the heart of the shutdown is a widening cost disparity between European manufacturing and global competitors. INEOS leadership pointed directly to British gas prices, which are trading at around $23.51 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on front-month contracts, based on market data from LSEG and the Intercontinental Exchange. By contrast, benchmark US gas at the Henry Hub is $2.84/MMBtu.
The company noted that the Hull facilities use gas both for energy and as a feedstock in the production process. Chairman Jim Ratcliffe emphasized that the combination of high fuel costs and regulatory burdens has created an impossible operating environment.
“I’m sure people will find it hard to believe that we are being forced to mothball some of the most efficient plants in Europe but with gas prices now 12 times the level in the US and eight times that of China, we just cannot compete.”
Jim Ratcliffe, chairman of INEOS
A Broader Crisis for European Manufacturing
European manufacturers have faced pressure since the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an issue further compounded by the Middle East war. Energy-intensive industries find themselves burdened with fuel and power costs far higher than competitors in the United States and China.
Ratcliffe warned that regulatory frameworks in Europe fail to account for the pressures placed on industrial producers. He argued that policy pressures are effectively exporting industrial capacity rather than reducing emissions.
“The European regulators need to wake up to the fact that the combination of high energy costs and the additional burden of unsustainable carbon taxes are destroying our European manufacturing base.”
Ratcliffe, chairman
Environmental and Economic Fallout Across Global Supply Chains
INEOS emphasized that prior capital investments made the Hull sites among the most efficient in the world, operating at the lowest possible level of CO2 emissions. Company leadership argued that idling these plants creates an environmental paradox, forcing the market to rely on replacement goods produced abroad under higher emission standards.
According to executive statements, replacement products imported from the United States carry double the carbon emissions of the idled British production, while goods imported from China generate eight times the emission level. Ratcliffe characterized the situation as economic vandalism on an industrial scale
, arguing that current energy frameworks accelerate global CO2 emissions while exporting jobs overseas.