Page 18 - EurOil Week 47

EurOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES EurOil

Petroineos considers unit closures

at Grangemouth refinery

UK EUROPE’S refining sector is set to undergo Vehicle ban
further rationalisation, with Petroineos mulling UK refiners also face a longer-term threat
The closure of the units plans to shut down units at the 200,000 barrel per from the government’s ambitions to bring
would substantially day (bpd) Grangemouth refinery in Scotland. forward a ban on the sale of new gasoline and
reduce output at Petroineos, a joint venture between the UK’s diesel cars to 2030, from 2035. The proposal is
Scotland’s only oil Ineos and China’s PetroChina, has announced aimed at expanding the use of electric vehicles
refinery. it will launch a consultation on closing down a (EVs).
crude distillation unit and a fluidised catalytic The ban would cover passenger cars and vans,
cracker at the site, citing reduced fuel demand. or light commercial vehicles, although the cut-
The UK is in the midst of its second nationwide off for hybrid vehicles equipped with battery
lockdown, due to continue until December 2, propulsion and conventional engines remains
limiting where citizens can travel both by vehicle 2035. But UK refiners say the restriction is not
and aeroplane. necessary, urging the government to do more to
The move would also re-align the refinery’s develop biofuels instead.
product slate more closely with fuel demand in “[The] government should support the
northern England, Scotland and Northern Ire- uptake of a range of technologies to reduce car-
land, Petroineos has said. Both the units targeted bon emissions in light transport with a ban,”
for closure have been offline for most of the year. UK downstream association UKPIA said in a
Their shutdown will also substantially reduce statement. “While internal combustion engines
output at Scotland’s only remaining refinery. will still be in use for some time to come, it is
A number of European refiners have important to deploy low-carbon liquid fuels like
announced similar proposals, with Finland’s biofuels into the fuel mix sooner, as they offer
Neste considering a closure at its plant in Naan- significant carbon emissions reductions with
tali and Gunvor mulling the step at its Antwerp today’s car fleet.”
refinery in Belgium. The UK is the third-largest oil consumer in
Decommissioning plants entirely is costly, Europe after Germany and France and is also
however, leading other companies to launch among the 10 biggest passenger car markets
plans to convert their refineries to produce bio- in the world. The move to bring forward the
fuels instead. Total announced such a project at ban brings the country in line with a num-
its Grandpuits refinery in France in September, ber of other European countries, including
followed by Spain’s Repsol at its facility in Carta- Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland and the
gena the next month. Netherlands. ™

P18 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 47 26•November•2020