Black Gold

In the final episode of the series, we look at the now and next for Stanlow and its neighbouring towns and villages. The refinery continues to impact on the people living closest to it. While recording the podcast, Stanlow made the news as residents began to report physical symptoms after a leak from one of the tanks on the site. We speak to people struggling to get answers about what exactly is in the air, as questions remain over the what’s in the atmosphere in the shadow of Stanlow. As 2024 marks the 100 year anniversary of oil refining at Stanlow, the refinery is having to adjust to the new green world to keep its place in the UK’s industrial plans for the next century. In the wake of job cuts at the refinery in the 80s, we find out where those jobs went and how this transition is a major part of Ellesmere Port’s industrial history. But a new transition is just on the horizon. We conclude the series by looking at what is next for the aging petrochemical plant. How will Stanlow fit in with Ellesmere Port’s new plan to become a hub of the green industrial revolution. We will also hear from contributors we’ve heard from throughout the series, and what they imagine will occupy the marshland that Stanlow Oil Refinery sits on in the next 100 years. Writer and Producer - George Powell Senior Producer – Louise Clarke Editor – Tara McDermott Technical Producer – Craig Boardman Artwork – Ellie Walmsley Music – Joshua Leary Black Gold is a Long Form Audio production for BBC Sounds Audio Lab Commissioning Editor – Khaliq Meer

Most people will encounter Stanlow Oil Refinery from driving past it on one of the motorways that skirts its borders. Driving past at night, you’ll be met with thousands of its lights illuminating its various plants. For some people, this spectacle is a proud local landmark and part of the visual identity of their town. For others, its flames, escaping steam, and contrast with its rural setting is a post-apocalyptic reminder of its impact on the wider environment. The refinery has even been the subject of a song by 80’s synth band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, whose lead singer, Andy McCluskey, has a personal connection with Stanlow. In this episode, artists, musicians and writers discuss the visual impact of Stanlow, including OMD’s Andy McCluskey, writer Tabitha Lasley, as well as artist and designer Peter Saville. Writer and Producer - George Powell Senior Producer – Louise Clarke Editor – Tara McDermott Technical Producer – Craig Boardman Artwork – Ellie Walmsley Music – Joshua Leary Black Gold is a Long Form Audio production for BBC Sounds Audio Lab Commissioning Editor – Khaliq Meer

Once or twice a week, a test siren rings out from Stanlow Oil Refinery. A regular reminder of a vast, hazardous industrial area on their doorsteps. For such a huge petrochemical site, that’s been there so long, accidents are rare. But historic events highlight the danger to workers, people living nearby, and the emergency services who risk their lives to prevent potential disasters. In this episode we’ll take you to a scene of chaos at Stanlow, as a fire breaks out in one of the industries next door to the refinery, threatening to spread to a tank farm nearby. A violent explosion inside the refinery itself threatens night workers, with the fallout spreading to local villages. And one local resident talks about constant uncertainty in the air.. Writer and Producer - George Powell Senior Producer – Louise Clarke Editor – Tara McDermott Technical Producer – Craig Boardman Artwork – Ellie Walmsley Music – Joshua Leary Black Gold is a Long Form Audio production for BBC Sounds Audio Lab Commissioning Editor – Khaliq Meer

At the start of the 20th Century, oil companies are growing rapidly. But to transport oil to the people who need it most, they need to refine oil closer to where it’s needed. The site of an ancient Abbey in North West England became the ideal place for Shell to build a refining outpost near the River Mersey. As demand for oil grows, so does the refinery, becoming a vast petrochemical plant – the biggest in Europe - that dominates the skyline, landscape and the lives of people working there and living around it.The new gleaming, magic black gold processed here is used to fight wars, fuel the growing demand for cars, and build the roads to drive them on. The profits from the production of oil products would come at the perfect moment to help repay the debt that Britain was in after the second world war, and lead to an era of prosperity for those working at the refinery. In this episode, you will hear from people who can weave together the varied stories of Shell, oil itself, and the industrial history of corner of North West England, and how these separate narratives combined for the construction of Stanlow Oil Refinery. Writer and Producer - George Powell Senior Producer – Louise Clarke Editor – Tara McDermott Technical Producer – Craig Boardman Artwork – Ellie Walmsley Music – Joshua Leary Black Gold is a Long Form Audio production for BBC Sounds Audio Lab Commissioning Editor – Khaliq Meer

The start of the 80s sees the worst recession since the second world war. Until now, the Stanlow Oil Refinery has been a generational employer, but over the course of just six years, half of the workforce is cut. But what role did oil prices have in this recession? How did an industry once seen as infinite, oil, become another casualty in the UK’s industrial strategy, and how did events as far away as Kuwait, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia impact Stanlow’s antennae-like network of metal pipes and chimney stacks? In this first episode you will hear from people who were working at Stanlow during this turning point; people who feared for their job, those who experienced a complete change of working practices, and a famous member of Margaret Thatcher’s government who gives his reasons for the decline of industry in the 80s. Writer and Producer - George Powell Senior Producer – Louise Clarke Editor – Tara McDermott Technical Producer – Craig Boardman Artwork – Ellie Walmsley Music – Joshua Leary Black Gold is a Long Form Audio production for BBC Sounds Audio Lab Commissioning Editor – Khaliq Meer

Stanlow oil refinery has been central to the UK’s industrial strategy for the past 100 years. How has it impacted its local community? And does it have a place in the future?