ExxonMobil has accused Labour of damaging British business with its ban on new North Sea drilling.
UK chairman Paul Greenwood said Ed Miliband’s block on new exploration licences, alongside carbon taxes and high energy prices, was “undermining” business and killing North Sea energy.
It comes after Exxon announced the closure of its Mossmorran ethylene plant in Fife. Mr Greenwood said Labour’s policies had made ethane – the plant’s key feedstock – too expensive.
“Our ethylene plant and its closure is an example of how bad [government] policy is going to hurt jobs and undermine economic growth in the UK,” he said.
“It means I need cheap sources of abundant ethane, and I do not have it because North Sea output, due to government policy, is declining rapidly.” He said Exxon had warned ministers for months but “the Government decided… they weren’t going to be able to change those policies”.
He warned the UK will face more imports and rising emissions: “These products will not be made there, but will be transported in.” Mr Greenwood also criticised CO₂ taxes, saying: “These are deliberate government policies that are undermining us.”
Industry bodies Make UK and Fuels Industry UK said the closure highlighted the fragility of UK manufacturing.
Industry minister Chris McDonald said support was rejected due to cost, adding the closure was “not symptomatic of UK industry as a whole.”