Latest news with #PetroIneos
The National
21-05-2025
- Business
- The National
Hundreds of former Grangemouth workers receiving skills support
The UK Government says 184 workers have already begun training following the Prime Minister's commitment to a 'training guarantee' for all refinery staff. Scotland's last oil refinery ceased processing at the beginning of May. Owners PetroIneos had said it was loss-making and less efficient than other refineries. In the months leading up to the shutdown, hundreds of workers took voluntary redundancy while a number of compulsory redundancies were also made. READ MORE: Nigel Farage's crocodile tears for 'British values' are a smokescreen Every PetroIneos worker affected by the decision to close the oil refinery has been provided the opportunity for one-to-one interviews with careers specialists at Forth Valley College. Keir Starmer's 'training guarantee' was made in February, alongside a £200 million pledge to invest in future opportunities for the industrial site. UK Energy Minister Michael Shanks will discuss the site's future at a taskforce meeting on Wednesday, alongside the Scottish Government's acting Energy Secretary Gillian Martin. Shanks (below) said: 'The workforce at Grangemouth is highly skilled with significant transferrable experience which our training commitment recognises by providing tailored support for workers into new employment opportunities. 'As well as continuing to work to secure the site's long-term industrial future, we want to ensure no worker is left behind and that they are equipped with the skills they need to secure good jobs.' Martin added: 'The Scottish Government's immediate focus has rightly been on supporting workers who have lost their jobs. (Image: PA) 'We committed up to £450,000 to ensure that they are supported and assisted to secure other employment and to contribute their valuable skills to Scotland's green economy. 'That is why we are also working to secure Grangemouth's role in that future and create an investible industrial strategy for the site. 'It's clear that real progress is being made on the findings from Project Willow.' One of those who received the training support was former refinery worker Steven Bell, who took part in a range of courses and was able to find work at a company involved in the pharmaceutical sector. Bell said: 'The support I received from Forth Valley College with retraining during the redundancy process has been exceptional. 'From my one-to-one meetings discussing courses that I would be interested in and what my future career path might be, right through to getting booked onto the courses I had selected, nothing was too much trouble.'
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Grangemouth closure 'nothing short of economic crisis', says Kate Forbes
THE closure of Grangemouth is 'nothing short of an economic crisis', Kate Forbes has said. The Deputy First Minister made the comments in a ministerial statement in Holyrood on Wednesday, just a day after Grangemouth's owner Petroineos confirmed the refinery has ceased processing crude oil. The industrial site in central Scotland was the last oil refinery operating north of the border. 'The decision by Petro Ineos is nothing short of an economic crisis,' Forbes told MSPs. 'And we need the UK Government to work with us to respond quickly, as we know that it can.' READ MORE: She added: 'It's a very sad day for Grangemouth and for Scotland, and we are deeply sorry for the workers and the wider community.' In recent months, hundreds of workers have taken voluntary redundancy while a number of compulsory redundancies have also been made. 'The decision of last September [to close the refinery] was and is premature,' Forbes said. 'It jeopardises our transition to net zero, negatively impacts the Scottish economy and leaves us reliant on imported fuel. We have continually called on the UK Government to do more, to intervene and to stop this needless act of economic vandalism. (Image: PA)'If they can intervene at Scunthorpe, then it is surely necessary in Grangemouth.' She added: 'The UK Government could have chosen to underpin operations of the refinery to bridge the transition to new technologies, or as we've repeatedly called for, intervention to enable sustainable aviation fuel production at Grangemouth.' Petroineos has said the refinery is loss-making and has rejected claims from unions that the site could easily transition into a hub for producing sustainable aviation fuel. In London today to meet Michael Shanks and get an update from Scottish and UK agencies on the work of our joint investment task force for the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster. There's been a good deal of commercial interest in the opportunities published in the Project Willow study — Gillian Martin (@GillianMSP) April 30, 2025 On Wednesday, UK energy minister Michael Shanks and Scottish Energy Secretary Gillian Martin (above) met to discuss the joint work both administrations are undertaking. 'There's been a good deal of commercial interest in the opportunities published in the Project Willow study,' Martin claimed afterwards. The significant report commissioned by the Scottish and UK governments, known as Project Willow, aims to chart a future for the site in low-carbon energy. But the report said this would require around £3.5 billion of private investment.
The National
30-04-2025
- Business
- The National
Grangemouth closure nothing short of economic crisis
The Deputy First Minister made the comments in a ministerial statement in Holyrood on Wednesday, just a day after Grangemouth's owner Petroineos confirmed the refinery has ceased processing crude oil. The industrial site in central Scotland was the last oil refinery operating north of the border. 'The decision by Petro Ineos is nothing short of an economic crisis,' Forbes told MSPs. 'And we need the UK government to work with us to respond quickly, as we know that it can.' READ MORE: Crude images and graffiti spray-painted onto 150-year-old Scottish cathedral She added: 'It's a very sad day for Grangemouth and for Scotland, and we are deeply sorry for the workers and the wider community.' In recent months, hundreds of workers have taken voluntary redundancy while a number of compulsory redundancies have also been made. 'The decision of last September [to close the refinery] was and is premature,' Forbes said. 'It jeopardises our transition to net zero, negatively impacts the Scottish economy and leaves us reliant on imported fuel. We have continually called on the UK Government to do more, to intervene and to stop this needless act of economic vandalism. (Image: PA)'If they can intervene at Scunthorpe, then it is surely necessary in Grangemouth.' She added: 'The UK Government could have chosen to underpin operations of the refinery to bridge the transition to new technologies, or as we've repeatedly called for, intervention to enable sustainable aviation fuel production at Grangemouth.' Petroineos has said the refinery is loss-making and has rejected claims from unions that the site could easily transition into a hub for producing sustainable aviation fuel. In London today to meet Michael Shanks and get an update from Scottish and UK agencies on the work of our joint investment task force for the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster. There's been a good deal of commercial interest in the opportunities published in the Project Willow study — Gillian Martin (@GillianMSP) April 30, 2025 On Wednesday, UK energy minister Michael Shanks and Scottish Energy Secretary Gillian Martin (above) met to discuss the joint work both administrations are undertaking. 'There's been a good deal of commercial interest in the opportunities published in the Project Willow study,' she claimed afterwards. The significant report commissioned by the Scottish and UK governments, known as Project Willow, aims to chart a future for the site in low-carbon energy. But the report said this would require around £3.5 billion of private investment.
The National
29-04-2025
- Business
- The National
Local representatives react to Grangemouth oil refinery's last day
It was confirmed on Tuesday by PetroIneos, a joint venture between billionaire Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos and the Chinese state-owned PetroChina, in an email reported by the media that Scotland's last oil refinery had ceased processing crude oil for good. The site, which is situated in the Falkirk council area, is due to close later this year, with the loss of around 400 jobs. Leading local representatives in the area, SNP MSP Michelle Thomson, has written to Labour's Anas Sarwar challenging him to keep his general election campaign promise to the refinery workers and back growing calls for a nationalisation plan to secure the site. READ MORE: Labour minister rejects calls to recognise state of Palestine with France During the 2024 General Election, the Scottish Labour leader promised that his party would 'step in to save the jobs at the refinery', which he's since argued the UK Government can't do anything as the refinery is operated by a privately owned company. Thomson said Sarwar's argument has 'completely fallen apart' after the UK Government moved at a rapid pace to take control of British Steel, a privately owned company, stating that it is a critical economic asset. She wrote: 'You promised before the General Election that a UK Labour Government would 'step in to save the jobs at the refinery' and Daniel Johnson MSP said the refinery could be saved with a 'small investment'. 'Despite this, under Labour Government plans, the refinery will be lost and most jobs that could come from Project Willow recommendations will not be delivered until at least 2030.' (Image: Andrew Milligan/ PA) Thomson added: 'It would appear the only reason these sites are not comparable, and why Westminster is not offering parity of treatment, is geography. One site is in England, the other is in Scotland. 'This is not the first time Westminster governments have allowed Scottish industry to fail.' Labour's MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, Brian Leishman, said the Labour Government had broken its promise by not stepping in and saving the workers jobs at Grangemouth. Leishman had called on Keir Starmer to nationalise the Grangemouth site like the UK Government did for British Steel last month. He added that in the 10 months that Labour has been in power, they have not done enough and that his party needs to do 'so much better' than what they are currently doing. Leishman said: 'Today is an absolutely dreadful day, not just for Grangemouth, but for all of Scotland. (Image: Office of Brian Leishman MP) 'Today Grangemouth – after a century of refining oil – stops. That means hundreds of workers in the local community are going to lose their jobs – thousands in the wider supply chain; and Scotland's energy security severely weakened and compromised. 'The Labour Party, in fact, the Labour leadership said in the General Election campaign that they would step in and they would save the jobs at the refinery. 'Yet it hasn't happened. It is broken promises like that that turn the electorate away from mainstream politics, and they lose the faith in politicians to actually work in their favour. 'This Labour Government in the first 10 months has got Grangemouth wrong. What we have done is nowhere near enough. We have to do so much better now that we are in power.' Leishman added: 'There are so many Labour MPs I know, and also Labour Party members, that want to reject austerity, want to invest in our communities and want to have a proper industrial strategy and a just transition that takes workers and communities along with them. 'This is a dreadful day, not just for Grangemouth and not just for Scotland, but also for the Scottish Labour Party.' Meanwhile, Scottish Green MSP Gillian Mackay, who grew up 200 yards from the refinery and represents the area at Holyrood, said the closure is devastating for both the workers and the local community. She said: We should have seen our Governments doing more to protect jobs and modernise the refinery into a space that would help our transition to a greener future. 'It is a further blow to the community. It is deeply disappointing that Labour have not stepped in to protect workers or to future proof jobs in the same way that they have with steelworks down south. 'Grangemouth is my home, and it has been frustrating to see promises being made and dropped as easily as Petroineos' detached billionaire has now dropped the workforce. Mackay added: 'I am concerned about what this will look like in the short term for the town. Warm words will not pay the bills. Grangemouth holds a lot of potential, as do the workers who offer the skills we need for transitioning away from fossil fuel. 'Governments have not done enough to protect the workers, and my fear is that Grangemouth will now go the same way as so many other communities and towns, where big businesses have cut their losses and left at the expense of the communities and livelihoods.'
Spectator
29-04-2025
- Business
- Spectator
The closure of Grangemouth's refinery sums up Labour's Net Zero muddle
Another grim milestone in Britain's elective deindustrialisation was reached today: Scotland's only remaining petrochemical plant, Grangemouth in Fife, ceased refining crude oil after more than half a century of processing output from the Forties field in the North Sea. It was hardly a surprise. PetroIneos, the part-Chinese-owned company, announced last year that Grangemouth was to become a terminal for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) imported from abroad. But today's news is significant because nothing better exposes the contradictory state of British energy policy. Despite Britain having substantial reserves of hydrocarbons in the North Sea – approximately 24 billion barrels – the UK government is choosing to switch to costly imports, which are likely to be more carbon-intensive than our own supplies, since much of it is transported thousands of miles by tanker. Moreover, much of the LNG we import annually from America is extracted using hydraulic fracturing (fracking): a method banned here.
