Information on the ExxonMobil sale of the Fife Ethylene Plant: EIR release

Information requested

I would like to know whether the Scottish Government had previously been informed by Exxon Mobil or any other third party of those efforts to find a buyer for the site. If so, on what date and by whom was this communicated to the Scottish Government. Further, if it had been previously aware of these efforts, please detail whether a request was made of the Scottish Government to assist or engage in these efforts, and if so, what if any activities to support these efforts were made by Scottish Government Ministers and/or officials.

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

The answer to your question is:

• In response to part 1 of your request asking “whether the Scottish Government had previously been informed by Exxon Mobil or any other third party of those efforts to find a buyer for the site. If so on what date and by whom was this communicated to the Scottish Government”, the Scottish Government was informed about the circumstances leading ExxonMobil to market the Fife Ethylene Plant on 11 November 2025 by ExxonMobil.
• In response to part 2 of your request asking “if it had been previously aware of these efforts, please detail whether a request was made of the Scottish Government to assist or engage in these efforts”, no request was made to the Scottish Government to assist or engage in efforts to support or find a buyer for the plant.
• In response to part 3 of your request asking “what if any activities to support these efforts were made by Scottish Government Ministers and/or officials”, as noted above, no request for support was made to the Scottish Government prior to the announcement of the closure of the Fife Ethylene Plant on 18 November 2025. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reasons why that exception applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.

Additionally, I have provided copies of the minutes from meetings held between the Deputy First Minister and ExxonMobil on 11 November 2025 and 17 November 2025, prior to the announcement of Fife Ethylene Plant closure, which contain information relevant to your enquiry.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some the information you have requested because exceptions under regulations 11(2) (personal information), 10(5)(e) (confidentiality of commercial or industrial information) and 10(4)(a) (information not held) of the EIRs applies to that information. The reasons why that exception(s) applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.

ANNEX

Regulation 11(2) of the EIRs - Personal data relating to third party

An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exception is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception.

Regulation 10(5)(e) of the EIRs - Confidentiality of commercial or industrial information

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance an exception under Regulation 10(5)(e), confidentiality of commercial or industrial information, applies to the information requested.

This exception applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, substantially prejudice the confidentiality of commercial or industrial information.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception.

We recognise there is some public interest in releasing the information as part of an open, transparent and accountable government. However, withholding information outweighs the public interest in disclosing commercially sensitive information that was shared in confidence with the Scottish Government.

Regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs - Information not held

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested because no request for support was made to the Scottish Government prior to the announcement of the closure of the Fife Ethylene Plant on 18 November 2025. Consequently, there is no information available regarding any activities undertaken by Scottish Government Ministers and/or officials to support efforts to find a buyer for the plant.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about any actions made by Scottish Government Ministers and/or officials to support efforts to find a buyer for the Fife Ethylene Plant, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

EIR 202500494476 - Information released - Minutes

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