PLANT bosses will not attend a public meeting organised after the latest incident of “apocalyptic” flaring at Mossmorran.

ExxonMobil Chemical Ltd issued a public apology after “fluctuations” with their elevated flare on Thursday last week.

The flames from Fife Ethylene Plant were visible from as far away as Dundee and Edinburgh, and prompted local activists to call a town hall meeting in Lochgelly for this Friday night (7-9pm).

James Glen, chair of Mossmorran Action Group (MAG), said: “Last week’s flaring at Mossmorran has given rise to unprecedented levels of concern in the local communities and further afield.

“People have many questions and anxieties going forward, and official communications – public announcements from Exxon and SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency), and SEPA’s complaint form/hotline – do not allow for dialogue or the answering of questions.”

ExxonMobil said they will not be attending the town hall meeting.

A spokesperson told the Times: “We are actively undertaking a programme of public meetings with our local communities, coordinated through their elected community councils. 

“These conversations allow us to hear a range of views, share facts and answer questions, as well as enabling direct discussion between the public and ExxonMobil senior managers on the issues that matter for that town or village. 

“Each meeting has been well attended and constructive.

“In contrast, previous events hosted by MAG suggest that they do not offer a proper opportunity for reasoned and factual discussion, and are driven by the narrow activist agenda of the MAG leadership, of which the most vocal individuals live more than 30 miles from the plant. 

“As such, we will not be represented at the meeting called by the MAG leadership for Friday. 

“Our longstanding offers to the MAG leadership to visit our facility, meet our team and gain a better understanding of our operations remain very much open.

“We are committed to building mutual understanding with those living within our host communities, and will continue to actively seek constructive conversations to achieve that.”

Representatives from SEPA and HSE (Health and Safety Executive) have also received invites to the question and answer session, as well as environment minster, Roseanna Cunningham, and energy minister Paul Wheelhouse.

Jacob McAlister, plant manager, announced on Monday last week that the plant was in the final stage of its re-start. It shut down in August after two out of three boilers failed.

Thursday’s unplanned elevated flaring started around 7.30pm and lasted for around four hours.

ExxonMobil were unable to confirm to the Times on Tuesday when the re-start would be completed.

Stuart Neill, external affairs manager, said: “While such flaring is not unusual during a complex operational re-start, we absolutely understand how it may have caused concern and frustration.

“We have worked hard to keep our neighbours fully informed throughout the restart process, have advised them of the likelihood of flaring during the restart process, and were quick to inform them when it was necessary on Thursday.

“We recognise that the surrounding steam and light causes a dramatic visual effect, but the use of the flare was completely safe and controlled at all times.”

SEPA had specialist officers present on Thursday night head of environmental performance, Chris Dailly, said the incident was a “real reminder of why short and medium term solutions are critical to addressing the root causes of unacceptable flaring”.

He said: “Once again we heard clearly and powerfully the very real concerns and frustrations of local communities.

“Initial data suggests that whilst clearly there was elevated flaring, there was no breach of UK Air Quality Standard. We accept that flaring is causing people worry, anxiety and stress.”

Mr Dailly said the investment SEPA requires from the operators, including noise reducing flare tips and new ground flare capacity “will make a real difference to local communities”.

He said: “We appreciate communities want action, not words which is why we’re focused on rapid conclusion of regulatory investigation to an evidential standard and to the next steps in driving systemic change at Mossmorran.”