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Mossmorran and Braefoot Bay Complexes

Mossmorran is situated near Cowdenbeath, 20km north of Edinburgh. The Mossmorran complex consists of two neighbouring plants: the Fife Natural Gas Liquids (FNGL) Plant operated by Shell U.K. Limited and the Fife Ethylene Plant (FEP) operated by ExxonMobil Chemical Limited.

The Fife Ethylene Plant ceased operations in February 2026 and is currently being decommissioned. SEPA continue to regulate the plant, undertaking regular contact and inspections.

Latest update

Community Notice – Shell Fife NGL Plant - Steam outage and Valve Testing

Date published: 14 April 2026

The operator has shared the following community notice:

"I am writing to let you know about two upcoming activities at our site: a short steam outage on our ground flare system and routine testing of modular shutdown valves.

"Ground flare steam outage
"On Wednesday 15 April, we will be undertaking a short duration steam outage on our ground flare system.

"During this period, the ground flares may be operated without steam. As a result, you may notice some smoke when they are active. I want to assure you that we have thoroughly prepared for this outage and expect only intermittent, controlled use of the flares during daylight hours, with impacts kept to a minimum.
 
"Shutdown valve testing
"On Thursday 16 and Friday 17 April, we will carry out routine testing of the plant’s shutdown valves, which are an important part of our safety systems.

"To complete this work, sections of the process modules will be shut down to allow the valves to be tested. While we have planned the work to minimise flaring, there may be short periods of elevated flaring during daylight hours.

"We have informed the regulator SEPA of our plans for both the steam outage and annual test."

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