Grangemouth: Scotland's only oil refinery to close with hundreds of jobs at risk

ITV News Correspondent Louise Scott reports the potential closure of the Grangemouth oil refineries

Scotland’s only oil refinery is due to cease operations in 2025 putting hundreds of jobs at risk, its owners have announced.

Grangemouth, one of only six crude oil refineries in the UK and supplier of 80% of the country's oil, will become a fuel import terminal.

Petroineos, which owns the plant, said in a statement: “The timescale for any operational change has not yet been determined but the work will take around 18 months to complete and the refinery is therefore expected to continue operating until spring 2025.”

Franck Demay, chief executive at the company, said: “This does not change anything for our operation today, where it is business-as-usual at the Grangemouth refinery."

The firm said around 500 workers are employed at the site and a number of employees will remain following the move to an import-only terminal.

But trade union Unite has said it will “leave no stone unturned” in its fight to save jobs at Grangemouth.

“This proposal clearly raises concerns for the livelihoods of our members but also poses major questions over energy supply and security going forward,” Sharon Graham, the union’s general secretary, said.

“Unite will leave no stone unturned in the fight for jobs and will hold politicians to account for their actions.”

The firm said around 500 workers are employed at the site and a number of employees will remain once the transition has been complete.
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Meanwhile, the Scottish Tories described the situation as “devastating” for refinery staff and a “hammer blow” for the national and local economies.

Petroineos described the decision as the "start of a journey to transform our operation from one that manufactures fuel products, into a business that imports finished fuel products for onward distribution to customers."

The firm is also currently assessing a number of green opportunities for the site, it has said, including a bio-refinery.

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