TOUR DE FORCE 2019 REVIEW INEOS eyes long-term vision and gears up for the future Team INEOS leads the pack STRATEGY in Europe, including the region’s first cracker for over two decades, marking its biggest-ever capital expenditure on a single project. Image: David East “This is exactly the sort of investment the European petrochemical industry desperately needs. It simply cannot continue to run on 50-year-old assets,” says Crotty. “Industries that don’t renew themselves eventually wither.” “We believe what we’re building in Antwerp will be the most competitive cracker complex in the world and as good as anything in the US or the Middle East. This is essential for the future of European petrochemicals.” A further £1bn is also being spent in the UK to revitalise core assets, he adds. Half the budget has been HISTORY set aside to upgrade the Forties Pipeline System to extend its life. Another £350m has been allocated for a state-of-the-art steam and power plant in Grangemouth, with IN THE MAKING the remainder heading to Hull to fund a 300,000 tonne/year vinyl acetate monomer facility. After 20 years establishing itself as one of the world’s “We’ve some important assets in the UK and these are well worth leading chemical companies, INEOS continues to grow nurturing too. This investment will breathe new life into them,” he notes. “We’ve never been a company that he rapid growth of INEOS Sites such as change for us.” looks over our shoulders or at our these past few decades has Grangemouth are That is not to say the company competitors. We do what we think is seeing investment Tbeen characterised by shrewd is not making strategic purchases right for our business.” investments and great timing. where appropriate, he says. Indeed, In June, INEOS reached another Whether acquiring businesses it recently expanded its portfolio major milestone by unveiling a $2bn or transforming ageing plants into with the addition of Ashland’s plan to make its first foray into the market-leading assets, this winning composites business, Flint Hills’ Middle East with the construction of formula has helped create one of chemical intermediates segment, three world-scale plants. the world’s leading manufacturers. as well as the titanium dioxide However, it is not just in INEOS is now embarking on business from Tronox. INEOS petrochemicals where INEOS is another exciting period in the Styrolution has also bought two breaking new ground. company’s history, says Director of polystyrene plants in China. Recent years have seen it add a Corporate Affairs, Tom Crotty. “Moving forward, we will still be clothing brand, improve fitness in “All the success we’ve had to date making acquisitions where it makes schools, start a business to build a has been through acquisitions and sense but we’ll be looking more at 4x4 off-road vehicle and launch a bid now we’re moving into a phase “We’ve never been new builds too. Our scale is such that to win the elusive America’s Cup. where we’re growing through a company that we could arguably rest on our laurels More recently, it has bought investment,” he says. looks over our but that’s just not our style – we want French football club OGC Nice, won “The ability to make sensible shoulders or at our to invest and grow,” he says. the Tour de France as Team INEOS acquisitions, particularly in competitors. We “We think this is now a critical and supported running legend Eliud petrochemicals, has become do what we think point for the industry, particularly Kipchoge as he attempts to run a extremely limited over the last few in Europe, because the asset base marathon in under two hours. years because we’ve been at top is right for our is aging and unless we address Whatever the challenge, it all of cycle and therefore, we believe business” that, we’ll have trouble in the next comes down to teamwork, grit asset values are priced too high. 10 years. We want to stay ahead and single-mindedness – and For INEOS, it now makes far more by investing in the best available everyone involved shares the same sense to build our own assets rather Tom Crotty, technology.” resolute determination to succeed, than to buy them. Why would you Director of INEOS’s response was to notes Crotty. For INEOS, he says, pay more for a used car rather than Corporate Affairs, announce a €2.7bn commitment to absolutely nothing is impossible. for a new one? This is a huge step INEOS build a new petrochemical complex By Andy Brice 2 CIRCULAR ECONOMY Too good to go to waste Concerns about with a positive solution.” too. The business has successfully INEOS has built on this produced virgin PS from sustainability and the experience, he says, and is now depolymerised styrene monomer environment have put also a supporter of industry-wide in the laboratory – a first for the initiatives such as Plastics 2030 – industry. Hailed as a potential plastic in the spotlight which looks to recycle or reuse 60% game changer, this paves the way of plastics packaging by the end for commercial production within of the next decade, and Operation the next 18-24 months, adds CEO he positive effect plastic Clean Sweep that aims to prevent “There’s really no Kevin McQuade. has on our everyday lives is plastic pellets, flakes and powders reason why we It also recently announced Tundeniable yet it has been escaping into our waterways. should landfill a collaboration with waste hitting the headlines for all the wrong It has pledged to meet its own plastics or throw management company Indaver reasons over the past few years. ambitious targets by 2025 too. that will capitalise on the Belgium As one of the world’s leading INEOS has already ensured all of them away so firm’s Plastics2Chemicals plastics producers, INEOS is its plastics are recyclable. It also they end up in the programme. This aims to find committed to changing this wants to include at least 325,000 ocean. Plastics a safe and sustainable recycling perception. Whatever its form and tonnes/year of recycled material in are a valuable process for post-consumer plastics function, whether pellet, pipe or its products, to use 30% recycled and includes the development of a packaging, it has pledged to lead the content in its polystyrene (PS) used resource” 15,000 tonne/year demo plant in industry in addressing this challenge. for packaging in Europe, and at least Antwerp by early 2021. INEOS Olefins & Polymers, 50% for polyolefin-based packaging. Kevin McQuade, Another partnership with INOVYN and INEOS Styrolution It also believes it can help deliver CEO, INEOS Canada-based clean technology may deal with markedly different 900,000 tonnes/year of recycled PVC Styrolution company GreenMantra will products, customers and through the VinylPlus scheme. harness proprietary catalytic technologies, but they are all “The need to develop a circular depolymerisation technology equally committed to finding more economy is well recognised and to convert waste PS into a low sustainable solutions. making headlines around the molecular weight PS and recycled A prolonged campaign to ban world. At the heart of this drive is styrene monomer that will feed into polyvinyl chloride (PVC) by the principle of conservation and Styrolution’s production process. Greenpeace in the 1990s means efficient use of raw materials. This McQuade says it is also working INEOS is certainly no stranger principle goes to the heart of all that closely with US-based Agilyx on to dealing with mounting we try to do in the business," adds a commercial scale PS recycling environmental pressure, notes Rob Ingram, CEO of INEOS O&P. plant in Europe, as part of a joint Chris Tane, CEO of INOVYN. Over the past year, INEOS has industry initiative – Styrenics At the time, the industry formed several key partnerships Circular Solutions. This will responded with the launch of with waste recovery and treatment process up to 50 tonnes/day of the Vinyl 2010 initiative to help companies. Its efforts in mechanical post-consumer PS feedstock. improve PVC’s environmental recycling are also paying dividends, “Most people used to look at footprint. INOVYN is now a while the ultimate goal of chemical recycled materials as an inferior leading proponent of its successor, recycling and depolymerisation is and cheaper alternative to virgin VinylPlus. The industry in Europe also now within reach. material but now they’re seeing has since recycled some 4m tonnes Ingram says the O&P business them as an integral part of the of PVC, with 750,000 tonnes is planning to launch a range of solution,” he says. There’s really expected this year alone. polyolefins by the end of the year no reason why we should landfill “Back then, the idea of recycling that are 50% recycled content and plastics or throw them away so plastics was a big novelty and was 50% virgin polymer. Advanced they end up in the ocean. Plastics certainly ground breaking,” says testing with customers has so far Showing the are a valuable resource.” value of plastic Tane. “This was a new challenge that met with a positive response. waste will stop it By Andy Brice we needed to respond to. Instead of Styrolution has achieved some heading into the simply being defensive we came up significant milestones this year oceans or landfill 3 INVESTMENT & GROWTH Information graphic: Gareth JJ Burgess Gareth graphic: Information 4 THE RIGHT CHEMISTRY INEOS goes from strength to strength fter 20 years of investment and world scale facilities and rejuvenating innovation, INEOS has not only existing assets.