Plant investment in safe hands

When Fife Ethylene Plant (FEP) temporarily shuts down in April to begin its £140 million investment project, the delivery will be in very safe hands.

For the man in charge of the project, Maarten ten Doesschate, has already overseen numerous such projects for ExxonMobil around the globe.

In fact this represents the 14th major investment programme that Maarten has led for the company.

“While our operations have always been safe, we know our reliability has not been as good as it can be,” he said. “This has led us to use our flare too often, which we know frustrates our local communities.

“This investment will improve our reliability by overhauling existing equipment, installing thousands of new parts and introducing the latest versions of the technologies available.”

“We have a very skilled and knowledgeable team here at FEP who will be joined by over 850 specialist contractors. The work has been carefully planned and will be delivered to the highest standard.”

Maarten began his career with ExxonMobil in the Netherlands where he obtained a Masters in Chemical Engineering, and has worked with the company for over 35 years in a variety of roles.

Among his previous posts were Technical and Plant Manager in Rotterdam, Start-Up and Safety Manager in Singapore and Investment Project Manager in Beaumont and Baytown in the USA, and Antwerp in Belgium.

Maarten likens the programme to a major service on your car - but on a much bigger scale.

An estimated 300,000 hours of work will be delivered, including the installation of an advanced elevated flare tip, which will reduce noise and vibration and is greatly anticipated by the local community.

“We will share more detail with you as the project moves forward, so please keep an eye on our social media and website for details,” he added.