Closure of Grangemouth Refinery Sets Stage for New Industrial Era

Grangemouth refinery in Scotland will close in 2025, costing 400 jobs. Operator Petroineos plans to convert the site into a fuels import terminal. The decision, driven by financial losses and declining demand, faces opposition from unions and politicians. A joint UK-Scottish government plan aims to secure the site's future.

Grangemouth, Scotland's sole oil refinery, will shut down in 2025, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs, operator Petroineos announced on Thursday. The closure is part of a strategy to transform the century-old plant into a fuels import terminal. This decision, criticized by trade unions and politicians alike, follows last November's declaration that Britain's oldest refinery was preparing to cease operations.

Production will stop in the second quarter of next year, pending an employee consultation. The move will see the site's workforce reduced from 475 to around 75 employees within the next two years. Petroineos, a joint venture between PetroChina International London (PCIL) and the British chemicals firm INEOS Group, cited economic challenges and competition from more modern facilities abroad as reasons for the plant's closure.

In response to the closure, the UK and Scottish governments have announced a joint £100 million financial package aimed at securing an industrial future for Grangemouth and assisting affected workers. The Unity Trade Union, representing the refinery's workers, has decried the closure as an "act of industrial vandalism," emphasizing the site's crucial role in the nation's manufacturing and energy security.

(With inputs from agencies.)