A potential buyer has emerged for the Grangemouth oil refinery after owners Petroineos confirmed on Thursday that it was closing the facility on the Firth of Forth, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs. Scotland’s Public Finance Minister, Ivan McKee, stated that the Scottish and UK governments are working together to secure a long-term future for the site, and there are talks with a potential buyer. McKee said: “Going from a conversation to concluding a deal is clearly a long journey – but my understanding is there absolutely is a potential buyer.” Grangemouth is Scotland’s only refinery and accounts for roughly 14% of the UK’s overall refining capacity.
The oldest refinery in the UK is understood to be losing about £383,000 a day and is expected to lose around £153m in 2024. Petroineos confirmed that the closure would, instead, transform the site into a terminal to import aviation fuel, petrol, diesel, and kerosene into Scotland to “safeguard fuel supply.” However, this shift would drastically reduce workforce, potentially operating only with fewer than 100 employees compared to the current number of 475.
The Scottish Secretary, Ian Murray, argued that the UK government had done everything it could, but Petroineos “didn’t countenance having a discussion” about keeping the refinery open. Despite this, unions and critics believed that the owners should have granted more time to establish a green replacement and not just shut down abruptly. Derek Thomson of the Unite union stated: “The failure of government to plan properly for a just transition will leave thousands of people out of work at Grangemouth, but also thousands in the future if we don’t get it right.”
The refinery was inaugurated by BP in 1924 and expanded into petrochemicals in the 1950s. Ineos acquired the entire site in 2005, but the refinery itself is owned by Petroineos – a partnership between Ineos and PetroChina. Nonetheless, the potential buyer’s identity has yet to be disclosed since MSP Michelle Thomson agreed to keep the secrets confidential.
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