An MP has called on the government to take urgent action to secure the future of jobs at a chemical park in Hull.
It comes after industrial giant Ineos announced in September it was pausing production at its three plants at Saltend Chemicals Park, blaming high UK gas prices.
Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart said he had met with Industry Minister Blair McDougall to discuss the future of the plants and called for a “resolution before Christmas” because “skilled jobs depend on it”.
The Department for Business and Trade (DfBT) said the government had “already taken bold action to support our chemicals industry”.
David Brooks, chief executive of Ineos Acetyls, said the firm “welcomed” Stuart’s support for the park and he was “right to recognise the importance of Ineos to the wider chemicals park” and the “thousands of jobs that depend on its future”.
In September, Ineos said pausing production would affect up to 1,000 of its staff, of whom 245 work directly at the site.
Workers would be kept on while Ineos tries to buy liquefied natural gas from the US at lower prices – which could take up to a year – or waits for gas prices to go down, the BBC understands.
The firm said gas prices in the UK were 12 times higher than the US, and eight times more expensive than the coal-based processes used by Chinese competitors.