THIS is an Open Letter to ExxonMobil at the Fife Ethlyene Plant. Firstly, thank-you for your updates and community statements on the ongoing flaring situation at the Fife Ethlylene Plant:

May I offer some feedback on your consultation process?

From my own point of view and I suspect the majority of the local community, the information I require is: 1) the cause of the latest emergency; 2) how long the flaring will continue for

What I do not want to receive is the smug and arrogant corporate speak contained in Sonia Bingham’s (Plant Manager) lengthy statement which is full of highly debatable

claims - from the tone of it you would presume that the good folk of Cowdenbeath and Lochgelly should actually be grateful to Exxon for the wonderful services they provide. I

would suggest that next to packing up your plant and leaving us in peace, you should keep it simple, stick to facts and avoid wasting time on needless PR that no one believes anymore.

If I might make a suggestion? In one of your statements an apology was made to the community. Apologies are easy to make (especially if you have been ordered to make

them). Why not make a public commitment that every time there is mess up at the plant Exxon will donate a sum of money by way of reparation to the community? I’m sure Exxon

has plenty of loose change left over from lawsuits, etc, and this would at least buy you some welcome good publicity. I’m thinking Rachel House, The Bloodwise Leukaemia

Charity - even the Cowdenbeath Football Club, which is trying to raise £135,000 to avoid going out of business.

No compensation for noise, sleepless nights, headaches, polluted air and cracks appearing in walls but at least a gesture of goodwill for years of inflicting misery on us.

Aye, Willie Hershaw,

McKenzie Crescent,

Lochgelly

Community Statement Date: 25 March 2018 Time: 14.30 Statement: 04 ExxonMobil Chemical Limited Fife Ethylene Plant Beverkae House Mossmorran, Cowdenbeath.

'We are continuing to make progress as we work to restore normal operations at our Fife Ethylene Plant.

Sonia Bingham, Plant Manager at the Fife Ethylene Plant, said: “Our operations team is working diligently through every step in the re-start process, and we anticipate that we will return to normal operations overnight tonight. As a responsible operator we remain committed to restoring normal operations as soon as possible, and my team is making every effort to minimise any disturbance to the community. Safety and environmental protection remain our highest priorities.

“We recognise that flaring can cause concern to local residents. I apologise to the local communities and would like to assure them that we are doing everything we can to minimise any disturbance or inconvenience.”

“Flaring is a vital safety precaution for plants like FEP, and there is no danger to local communities or our workforce.”

“We continue to keep SEPA (the regulator for the plant) fully informed as we progress through this process, and are doing all we can to advise the local community.”

Independent testing over many years for Fife Council’s Mossmorran & Braefoot Bay Independent Air Quality Monitoring Review Group has shown there is no link between flaring activities at Mossmorran and air quality in the local communities, which continues to meet national and EU air quality standards (see the guide to flaring in the centre pages of our most recent Community Matters newsletter: https://exxonmobil.co/

2gVwGxd).

"The flaring began at approximately 6am on Friday 23 March, when the safety mechanism for the site’s main compressor (which takes gas from FEP’s furnaces and compresses it ready for the next stage of the ethylene production process) activated, shutting down the compressor as a precaution. The site’s safety systems responded as designed, re-routing the gas safely to the elevated flare.

"The Mossmorran complex meets national and EU standards, and is strictly regulated by local and national authorities including SEPA, the HSE and Fife Council. ExxonMobil is an integral part of the community and has been for more

than 30 years. As a major employer in the area, we run a strong, sustainable business. We are continuing to invest strongly in the plant for the long-term and are also committed to ongoing investment in our workforce. Our apprenticeship scheme is an example of our track record in this. We will continue to keep you informed with further updates until normal operations are restored".