THE Scottish Environment Protection Agency has pledged to assist Exxon/Mobil develop the ground flare technology to consign the events to history which have dominated the skyline in the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area over the past few years.

This follows the operators of the Fife Ethylene Plant announcing £140m of investment to upgrade their Mossmorran facility and significantly improve operational reliability and performance.

Ian Buchanan, Chief Officer, Compliance & Beyond at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, said: “SEPA has been clear that repeated unplanned flaring by ExxonMobil was both unacceptable and preventable and that in future flaring will be the exception rather than routine. "Having served a series of notices and operating permit variations to drive investment, including in noise reducing flare tips by 2020, we welcome the broad announcement from ExxonMobil. "We look forward to working with ExxonMobil on detailed proposals to both address the root causes of flaring and also on the requirement we have set around the “shortest period possible to plan, design, build and safely integrate” new ground flare technology which will significantly reduce impacts of flaring on local communities.”