JOHN Swinney has issued a statement following the news that Scotland’s last oil refinery will shut next summer.
Ineos has warned that four-fifths of the workers at Grangemouth face losing their jobs as it said the demand for fossil fuels is in decline.
It plans to change the oil refinery into a fuel import hub, requiring a fraction of the current workforce.
Swinney said in a post on Twitter/X: “I am deeply disappointed that Petroineos have confirmed their decision to close the Grangemouth Refinery in 2025.
"My immediate thoughts are with the workforce. We will continue to engage closely with the UKG to deliver an investment plan, which includes a £100m package and immediate career support for workers, to help secure an industrial future for the site.”
I am deeply disappointed that Petroineos have confirmed their decision to close the Grangemouth refinery in 2025. My immediate thoughts are with the workforce. (1/2)
— John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) September 12, 2024
Chief executive officer of Petroineos Refining, Frank Demay, also issued a statement on Thursday.
He said: “The energy transition is happening now and it is happening here. Demand for key fuels we produce at Grangemouth has already started to decline and, with a ban on new petrol and diesel cars due to come into force within the next decade, we foresee that the market for those fuels will shrink further.
“That reality, aligned with the cost of maintaining a refinery built half a century ago, means we are exploring ways to adapt our business.”
Elsewhere, SNP MSP for Falkirk East Michelle Thomson (below) said she was “very mindful of the community for whom a just transition will feel too far away”.
“I will be doing everything in my power to sustain the life of the refinery and to ensure it, and the important chemical cluster around it can be supported,“ she said.
"I have today written to both the Scottish and UK governments with various questions about what could and should be done.
"The questions include protecting workers rights, timescales, the continuation of Project Willow, implications for the Finnart pipeline, and a call for the UK government to change the regulations concerning hydrotreated esters and fatty acids (HEFA) to support the development of sustainable aviation fuels.
"I would also point out that Tata Steel has secured £500m from the UK Government to pursue a green agenda – I will be seeking similar support for Grangemouth."
Meanwhile, the Scottish Greens said that the announcement is a “brutal blow for Scotland”.
Gillian Mackay, an MSP for the Central Scotland region, has met with local workers and trade union representatives and called for a fair and just transition for the site.
She said: “All of us in the town know somebody who is employed directly or indirectly by the refinery. They’re the ones now suffering. A lot of people will be devastated, angry and extremely worried about what will happen next. I am too, I feel the same.
“This is the opposite of the just transition that is needed for the site and for Grangemouth. We have known for a long time that change is needed. Lessons have not been learned from other closures like Longannet.
"Successive Scottish and UK Governments should have taken action to provide a transition that put workers first. Grangemouth is now paying the price of that inaction.
“The workers at the site are some of the most talented and skilled anywhere in our country. They deserve so much better than the appalling way they have been treated by Ineos.
“We can't allow local workers or their families to be left behind at the whim of a billionaire. If Jim Radcliffe had any concern for the wellbeing of the community, he would be in Grangemouth today looking the workers directly in the eye.
“It is urgent that the UK and Scottish governments work together to secure local jobs and a long-term future for the site and the community.”
