The UK Petroleum Industry Association welcomes today’s announcement, firmly believing that industrial clusters with refineries at their centre have the potential to unlock access to new synergies, increasing energy efficiency and industrial productivity. We are glad to see that government is listening to our ask to provide clear leadership in this space. With a strong, and continuing effort from central and local government working with industrial sectors, we hope this will lead to on-the-ground development of industrial clusters and - in line with recent announcements – facilitate the deployment of new technologies including carbon capture and utilisation, waste heat recovery and energy storage.
Dr. Andy Roberts, Director for Downstream Policy commented: “The downstream oil industry is already closely integrated with other industries such as petrochemicals and in the supply of renewable transport fuels. While that helps our economy now, we agree with government that there are further opportunities for refineries and other industries to drive forward energy efficiency and productivity and to play an important role in the energy transition.
UKPIA has called for government to provide strong leadership to bring together potential clustering opportunities, believing that refineries due to their scale, complexity and flexibility, offer unique opportunities. We have been working closely with BEIS already, such as with the 2050 Decarbonisation and Energy Efficiency Oil Refining Action Plan, published alongside the Clean Growth Strategy in October 2017, which highlights the potential for clustering in our sector. We will continue to work hard with our membership to deliver this Mission.”
ENDS
Enquiries to: UKPIA Press Office, Tel. 020 7269 7605
- UKPIA represents eight oil refining and marketing companies that operate the six major oil refineries in the UK and source over 85% of the transport fuels used. UKPIA members also own around 1,250 of the UK's 8,476 filling stations in the UK.
- UKPIA members supply over 33% of the UK’s primary energy needs and support the employment of 88,100 people across the UK.
- Government pages can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/world-first-carbon-net-zero-hub-of-heavy-industry-to-help-uk-seize-global-economic-opportunities-of-clean-growth