​ExxonMobil boss says ‘deliberate’ Government policies helped force major UK site closure

Paul Greenwood, the chairman of ExxonMobil spoke out a day after the oil giant announced plans to close its ethylene manufacturing facility at Mossmorran in February 2026.

The petrochemical giant boss said “deliberate” policies of the UK Government policies are “undermining” the business – with this contributing to the decision to close a key site in Scotland.

The shutdown will affect 179 direct employees and 250 contractors at the Scottish site.

Mr Greenwood stated that whilst the company had explored various alternatives to maintain operations and sought potential buyers, government policies had made the business unviable.

The closure announcement has prompted immediate responses from both Scottish and UK governments, with Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes expressing her determination to “explore all options” to assist affected workers.

She emphasised that Westminster Labour ministers must “consider what more they can do for the workers at the plant and take urgent action”.

Mr Greenwood partly blamed Government policies for the closure decision.

In his BBC interview, he explained the “four keys to success” for the petrochemical sector: affordable and plentiful ethane supplies, cost-effective operations, favourable ethylene market prices, and qualified personnel.

“I will be blunt – I have one of those keys to success in place, and that is a brilliant workforce,” he said.

“Two of those keys I deliberately do not have because of Government policy.”

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He pointed to windfall taxes and production licence restrictions in the North Sea as factors driving up ethane costs and reducing supply.

“I need cheap sources of abundant ethane and I do not have them, because the North Sea because of Government policy is declining rapidly and that ethane is increasingly high price,” Mr Greenwood stated.

The executive revealed that ExxonMobil paid £20million in carbon dioxide taxes last year, with this figure expected to double within five years.

“My international competitors do not have those costs,” he said.

UK industry minister Chris McDonald has indicated the Government is not prepared to keep the site open.

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Mr McDonald told MPs on Tuesday that “where Government has intervened in the past, it has been where there’s been a fundamentally sound business proposition”.

Ms Forbes expressed her “extreme disappointment” at the closure decision during an appearance on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland.

She revealed her “surprise” at the speed with which discussions progressed from the company actively marketing the facility to declaring no viable purchaser had been found and announcing February’s closure.

“You have to look at the reasons ExxonMobil have given for their decision, and I have pushed them on these decisions in our conversations,” Ms Forbes said.

“But they have cited some of the policy and fiscal decisions that have been made in the UK that are making business less competitive.”

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Whilst acknowledging the firm faced difficulties with market conditions and elevated energy costs, Ms Forbes noted this would provide “cold comfort to the 179 ExxonMobil staff and the 250 contractors who yesterday learned that their jobs are at risk.”

Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has shifted focus towards finding alternative uses for the site and retaining the workforce.

“What we want to be focusing in on is how we create new economic opportunities there, how we engage with the company, how even if they struggle to find a buyer whether there is other options for the site,” Ms Forbes stated.

She stressed the importance of the workers’ expertise, saying: “The workers at the site are extremely highly skilled, they are absolutely critical to any just transition we take in this country, so we can not afford to lose them.”

Ms Forbes added that efforts must be made to preserve the location as a significant industrial site and major employer.