Ineos Styrolution to close Sarnia SM plant

Global styrenics producer Ineos Styrolution plans to permanently close its430,000 metric tonne (t)/yr styrene monomer (SM) production site in Sarnia, Ontario, by June 2026.

"The long-term prospects for the Sarnia site have worsened to the point that it is no longer an economically viable operating asset," Ineos Styrolution chief executive Steve Harrington said on Tuesday.

The Sarnia site was shut down on 20 April to address issues related to benzene (BZ) emissions after the Canadian government issued a BZ emissions control order on 18 April. The company said it continues to assess what would be required to restart the plant, a process that will require about six months.

Ineos said complying with the BZ emissions control order was unrelated to the decision to permanently close the plant.

Ineos said it has made several investments to ensure safe and reliable operations and that additional large investments unrelated to plant startup were necessary for site operations moving forward, which the company considers economically impractical.

Ineos declined to comment further. Sources close to the company said Ineos has been fulfilling Sarnia's customer orders with products from Texas units in Baytown and Texas City.

By Jake Caldwell