Petrol and diesel prices will have to rise if the UK wants to hit its net zero targets. The stark warning came from EET Fuels – the new name for Essar Oil UK – in an interview with The Telegraph.
EET Fuels owns the Stanlow Refinery in Cheshire. Director of the company, Tony Fountain, said any advancements in green fuels would require significant investment which would need to be passed onto drivers.
Fountain told The Telegraph: “We as an industry don’t have big margins so we have to pass through the costs. We’re talking about a few pence per litre.
“For us a few extra pence a litre is a big deal but in the context of the overall price of diesel, it’s not so much. It’s single-digit pence per litre.”
EET Fuels, which became the new name for Essar Oil last week, has bold plans to become the UK’s first low carbon refinery, setting the global benchmark for lower-emitting refineries and industrial decarbonisation.
The company is investing US$1.2bn to support industrial decarbonisation, with the ambition to deliver a 95% cut in carbon emissions associated with its production processes by 2030. That would be a cut of two million tonnes of carbon emissions per year – 12.5% of all of the North West’s carbon emissions, thereby making a substantial contribution to the UK’s plans to decarbonise industry.
EET Fuels’ decarbonisation strategy will reduce refinery emissions with two state-of-the-art approaches:
• Industrial carbon capture (ICC) which was announced in November 2022 and is scheduled to be operational by 2028. The project will result in an annual reduction of one million tonnes of CO2.
• Hydrogen fuel switching from natural gas and other refinery fuel sources to hydrogen as a fuel, resulting in an annual reduction of one million tonnes of CO2.
EET Fuels is part of Essar Energy Transition (EET), which was launched in 2023 to drive the creation of the UK’s leading energy transition hub in North West England. EET plans to invest a total of US$3.6bn in developing a range of low carbon energy transition projects over the next five years, of which US$2.4bn will be invested across its site at Stanlow.
Prashant Ruia, chair, EET Fuels and CEO, Essar Energy Transition, says: “EET Fuels is a key part of EET, which is building Europe’s foremost integrated energy transition hub. Leading by example, Essar Energy Transition is a major catalyst for region-wide industrial decarbonisation. We are playing our part to ensure that the UK delivers on its climate change goals, enhances energy security and maintains a strong, secure manufacturing base for fuels.”
In addition to EET Fuels, EET also includes:
• EET Hydrogen, which is developing 1.35 GW of blue hydrogen for the UK market, with follow-on capacity to reach 4 GW;
• Stanlow Terminals Ltd, which is developing enabling storage and pipeline infrastructure, including the UK’s largest Biofuel Storage hub.
- Essar Oil says its rebrand to EET Fuels will not affect its 67 forecourt sites in the UK, which will continue to use the Essar signage.
