YEAR IN REVIEW 2013

Part 1 – General overview: US shale gas boom has European plastics players worried / Commodity sectors dogged by overcapacity, insolvencies / Italy goes all out for biopolymers / Mixed picture for European converters

INEOS

Grangemouth to reopen after labour dispute ends / UK agrees to grants, loans for ethane terminal

INEOS

Shuttering VAM production unit in UK

INEOS

Ratcliffe threatens to pull out of Grangemouth / Shale gas an alternative to North Sea gas

INEOS NITRILES

Joint venture with Tianjin Bohai Chemical to build world-scale acrylonitrile facility in China / Initial capacity of 260,000 t/y to come on stream in 2016

INEOS

PVC joint venture with Solvay / Combined projected sales of EUR 4.3 bn / Potential to be in the global top three

INEOS

Move to Switzerland sealed / Banks reject debt financing / Talks on Grangemouth sale continue

INEOS

Move of HQ to Switzerland mulled / Group says financial turnaround would mean higher UK taxes