Ineos Phenol is working to reduce operating costs in order to boost margins.

Due to challenging market conditions, INEOS Phenol plans to cut production costs by 30 percent at its Doel production site in Belgium. Unfortunately, this may impact 56 jobs. However, INEOS Phenol is also proposing investments in process technology, energy efficiency, and logistics.

INEOS Phenol is the biggest producer of phenol, acetone, and alpha-methyl styrene (AMS), with a manufacturing capacity of about 4 million tonnes per annum. Cumene is transformed into phenol and acetone at their Doel's site. Phenol and acetone are further widely employed in various industries, such as automobile, textile, electronics, construction, and many others.

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The industrial demand for chemical products has weakened due to a combination of unpredictable energy prices, high inflation, and a cyclical slowdown. As a result, end-users of phenol and acetone have significantly reduced their production, and customers are facing increased competition and imports from Asian suppliers.

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Moreover, Europe has transformed into a net importer of Phenol and Acetone from a net exporter over the past 12 months. A decrease in the utilization rate of these products and their derivatives has also been observed to an average of 50 percent in 2023 which was 80 percent before the European gas crisis. Hence, the Doel plant did not resume production after the turnaround work last autumn.

According to Procurement Resource, the initiative of reducing the operational cost by INEOS Phenol aims to secure the site's competitive position. The phenol market is hindered due to the decreasing demand. Therefore, the modifications in organizational structure will enable them to efficiently manage costs while providing high-quality services.