The ‘Falkirk Herald’, based close to Ineos’s Grangemouth facility in Scotland, is not normally the place that the blog would look for news of the potential sale of a major part of the world’s 4th largest chemical company.
However, that is what happened today, when the ‘Herald’ reported that Grangemouth site manager Gordon Grant had confirmed Ineos was looking for “partners”, and “had some interest from PetroChina”. Being questioned by the local community council, Grant then reportedly added that “Ineos has stated very clearly we are committed to the Grangemouth site, but nothing is forever. We will see what comes out of these discussions with PetroChina”.
Rumours of potential INEOS sales have been around for some months. And whilst a deal may not be quite as close as the Herald suggests, INEOS is certainly under intense pressure from its lenders, as it seeks to agree a new business plan by a revised deadline of 17 July. A sale of part or all of the Grangemouth refinery could bring in significant cash, given the $725m that Dow achieved recently for its TRN refining business.