Petroineos confirms cessation of refining operations
First Minister has responded to the
announcement that refining of crude oil has ceased at
Grangemouth.
The First Minister said:
“This is a very sad day for Grangemouth, and for the country more
generally – with the end of refining in Scotland after a century.
I want to pay tribute to the workers at Grangemouth, who I know
will be deeply concerned by this news, but who have acted
throughout this process with professionalism. Everyone will know
someone or some family affected and this news will be difficult
for everyone in the local area.
“We have said all along that this decision was premature,
fundamentally short-sighted and detrimental to the transition to
net zero. Our calls for the UK Government to step in and try and
maintain operations have gone unheeded so far.
“But UK Ministers could still act – just as they did at
Scunthorpe. At the very least, they need to act to secure
the site's future, as interventions of this magnitude would
require action from the UK Government. We need to know and
understand what assets are there at the refinery that could
potentially be used to help Grangemouth contribute to our net
zero economy in the future.
“But today is fundamentally about reassuring everyone employed at
the refinery and in supply businesses, that they have a future.
Their skills are valued and we want them to stay, to live and
work here in Scotland. That is why we have provided up to
£450,000 for a skills intervention which is being delivered by
Forth Valley College to help retrain and upskill affected
workers. That will enable them to progress to the sort of new
jobs that will be created through the Project Willow proposals
and other opportunities across the Grangemouth cluster.”
Background
The Scottish Government is fully focused on securing a long term
and sustainable future for the site, by progressing the proposals
identified in Project Willow, and has allocated £25 million to
establish a Grangemouth Just Transition Fund to take forward
these proposals as well as other opportunities across the
industrial cluster.
If realised, these projects could support 800 direct jobs at
Grangemouth and many more indirect roles across supply chains and
construction, maintaining Grangemouth's role at the forefront of
industrial manufacturing in Scotland and supporting the
transition to net zero.
