Economy boost as Mossmorran brings in workers from around globe for £140m upgrade

Fife’s economy is being boosted by overseas visitors from ExxonMobil sites around the world who are bringing their highly specialised expertise to Fife Ethylene Plant’s £140m upgrade.
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Louisiana man Jason Felder is just one of 30 overseas visitors, and he and his family are loving spending time in the beautiful Kingdom of Fife.

The machinery job pack leader and his family, who live in Baton Rouge, are staying in a luxury caravan at Pettycur Bay Holiday Park, alongside colleagues from Singapore and Belgium.

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As Jason was going to be away from home for several months the family decided to come with him.

The Felder family.The Felder family.
The Felder family.

Wife Gina, daughters Lilyanna and Cecilia (both 11) and son Briar (7), have now been in Scotland for over a month, with the first 10 days spent quarantining.

“It was a good time for the children to travel, in terms of their schooling,” explained Gina.

“The school authorities told us they would learn just as much travelling with us as they would in the classroom.

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“We’ve been making sure they’ve been learning lots about Scotland and its history, and we’ve managed to do quite a bit since the travel restrictions were lifted. It’s really beautiful here and we are having a lot of fun.”

Steven Wallace, sales manager at the park, said the influx of visitors have been well received.

“The boost the ExxonMobil staff has given to our business has been great. They started coming in during lockdown and gave us a revenue stream we wouldn’t otherwise have had.

“I live here and when I have been out at the shops they have commented that the extra business is helping them too.”

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