How decarbonisation will help the UK’s last refineries survive
By 
Andy Extance2025-06-09T08:15:00
Carbon capture and low-carbon hydrogen are central to any possibility of supplying liquid fuels compatible with net zero, reports Andy Extance
Following Grangemouth’s closure, the UK will have just five oil refineries, down from a peak of 18 in the 1970s. This long-term decline has a combination of causes, including the global competition that Hardie cites. Economically, sites have struggled to recover from the financial crisis of 2008 and the Covid-19 pandemic. Environmentally, prices on carbon emissions and plans to phase out petrol and diesel cars by 2030 are putting them under further pressure.
Ambitiously, Essar Energy Transition (EET) Fuels believes that decarbonisation can help its Stanlow refinery thrive for as long as possible