ExxonMobil has announced today that it has permanently shut-down production at its Fife Ethylene Plant.
The company first revealed plans to close the Fife facility back in November, putting over 400 jobs at risk.
An official statement published this afternoon said: “After more than 40 years and more than 25 million tonnes of ethylene produced, we have permanently shut-down production at Fife Ethylene Plant today.
“To safely undertake this work, this requires the use of our enclosed ground flare. We anticipate most of the required flaring will be complete within the next 24-36 hours.
“All final residual gas will then be removed from the units over the next month, though flaring levels will be low.
"We will follow our procedures and standards to minimise any disturbance."
The news follows a weekend of flaring due to a technical issues with one of the site’s operating unit.
A taskforce met last week to discuss the future for workers being affected by the closure.
Initial lay-offs are set to see 70 receive redundancy packages at the end of April, and 90 will be retained until the first quarter of 2028 for decommissioning and dismantling work, with 20 relocated to London or Southampton.
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