Chamber and committees

That will vary. I am happy to set out some of the timescales in more detail for the committee, in response to questions from Mr Doris, so that the committee can have confidence on the matter.

Absolutely. It is central to the on-going work, and that has been the case through its development. You have repeated again that the 400 figure is an assumption rather than a definite figure—

I understand that. I am simply saying that, at this stage, that is still an assumption rather than a definite figure. We are looking to do everything we can do to make sure that we maximise the number of jobs that are retained at the site and that can be retained in the wider community.

I absolutely understand that Grangemouth is a hub of industrial activity and that it brings with it investment in the wider community and the supply chain that feeds it. Mr Hardie articulated the fact that there will be on-going business based on the import terminal, which will ensure that there are still business opportunities there. A complex supply chain feeds a number of different aspects of the Grangemouth site.

We are still assessing, alongside the impact on the business, what the likely impact on the supply chain will be, but I hope that it will be maintained in as strong a position as possible. That is partly why we are carrying on with the work on the just transition plan and looking for a further meeting, with ministerial involvement from both the Scottish Government and the UK Government, of the Grangemouth future industry board early in January—I think that the date of 18 January has been proposed—in order that we can examine exactly those types of questions.

Good morning, convener and colleagues, and thank you very much for having me along again this morning.

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the emerging situation, as far as we understand it, at the Grangemouth refinery. I welcome and value your support on that important issue.

I recognise that this is a more than unsettling time for the workforce at the Grangemouth refinery, and I reiterate the Scottish Government’s absolute commitment to doing all that we can to support it. I also recognise the potential impact of the announcement in the longer term for supply chain businesses, and I commit to ensuring that any subsequent decision that is taken takes cognisance of the wider economic impacts for business, local people and communities.

It is important to acknowledge the role that Grangemouth has played nationally and locally as part of our industrial infrastructure. It is Scotland’s largest industrial site and it is an integrated cluster of strategic infrastructure, with expertise in downstream oil, chemicals, petrochemicals and innovation. It is also hugely important for logistics, as it is Scotland’s largest port.

There are three major industrial sites: the Petroineos fuel refinery; Ineos Olefins & Polymers UK, which focuses on petrochemicals; and Ineos FPS—Forties pipeline system—for the oil and gas pipelines. Together, those three businesses employ around 1,800 of the 2,000 employees at Grangemouth.

The Petroineos refinery is the focus of the recent announcement. The refinery dates back to 1924, and it is currently owned and operated under the terms of a joint venture formed in 2011 by Ineos and PetroChina.

In those early days a century ago, before the exploration of North Sea oil, the refinery relied solely upon oil sourced from across the globe, much like its operation today. It currently has 500 direct full-time employees and delivers £150 million of gross value added annually. Grangemouth is Scotland’s largest industrial site, as I have said, with an integrated cluster of strategic infrastructure and expertise in critical elements of our economy.

I have set all of that out to make it clear how important the site and the refinery are to us. That is why we are focusing on working with the refinery management and staff to start the transition to the future.

As members would expect, the First Minister and I have met the refinery’s senior management team to receive an update on what the announcement means. We subsequently met shareholders yesterday. It remains our understanding that the announcement is not, at this point, a decision to close the refinery but a decision to start the necessary preparations to have the potential to transition Grangemouth to an import terminal. During the meetings, we stressed the importance of ensuring that workers are at the centre of any decisions that the business takes on the refinery’s transition. The business agreed on the importance of working collaboratively with the Scottish Government and trade unions throughout the transition period.

I have also met representatives of, and written to, Unite the union and the Scottish Trades Union Congress. We are aligned on the imperative of securing a just transition for Grangemouth, the industrial cluster and its workforce. It is our intention to publish the just transition plan by spring next year. I am sure that members will want to discuss and hear more about that work during this evidence session and subsequent evidence sessions.

I finish by reminding the committee that the responsibility for the security of fuel supplies lies with the UK Government. Contingency planning relating to fuel supplies is therefore the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. Members will be aware that I have written to the secretary of state. I have also had a constructive meeting with the Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Graham Stuart, and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland, John Lamont, who have both assured me that the appropriate plans are in place in the event that there is any disruption to fuel supplies from Grangemouth.

It is my intention and hope that we will continue to work constructively as things develop, not least to ensure that we prioritise the wellbeing of the highly skilled workforce and that any final decision safeguards the business’s role as a supplier of road and air fuels for years to come.

I look forward to taking your questions.

Yes—that is a fair assessment, and we are absolutely working on that.

The critical element is making sure that we continue to work on some of the other opportunities that are available for the site, including carbon capture and storage and the central role that the Grangemouth site plays in the Scottish cluster. Questions were previously raised about hydrogen and the potential for a biorefinery, which will be absolutely critical in ensuring that there is not just a shift, as Ms Chapman suggested, but also a transition. As Iain Hardie set out, the hydrogen and biorefinery elements are works in progress and areas that we still need to make sure all partners are looking to drive forward as quickly as possible.

There are two elements to your question. First, to answer the final part of it, we are publishing our just transition plan early next year. The Grangemouth future industry board continues to be active and working, and I will make sure that its activities and forward work are shared with the committee. I can follow up with correspondence on that, unless Susie has further information that she wants to impart right now.

The green freeport will capture significant activity beyond the Grangemouth site. We are looking to ensure that opportunities are taken advantage of through the green freeport, such as supplying, manufacturing and other services for the offshore renewables sector and other industrial activity.

The joint venture has taken its decision on a commercial basis and, I suspect, regardless of the freeport status. It has been taken with a wider macroeconomic situation in mind. I am happy to have a further discussion about the green freeport and what our ambitions are for it, but I do not think that that had a particular bearing on the decision that has been taken.

I appreciate Mr Stewart’s question. We touched on some of that last week when we talked about Glasgow Prestwick airport. There are challenges around feedstock and regulation, which Mr Hardie articulated well. However, we continue to make the case to the UK Government for a regulatory environment that will support investment in the production of sustainable aviation fuel, which I am looking to pursue. I encourage the committee to look at that in more detail as well, because it has a critical role to play in relation to some of our strategic assets—we have spoken about Glasgow Prestwick—as well as connectivity. Mr Stewart referred to my heritage in Orkney, but that connectivity is also important for the other island groups. We also need to be connected internationally. That plays an important role as we seek to continue to grow the Scottish economy.

Yes, because we have been engaging with the joint venture for some time, and we have ensured that investment has been made on the import terminal to give us assurance on the supply of energy security for Scotland. We have also ensured that a just transition plan will come in ahead of any decision being taken. No final decision is being taken on the future of the refinery yet. The decision that has been taken is to give investment certainty for the import terminal, which allows for the transition of the site and ensures that our energy security needs are met.

Obviously, we will continue to engage with the joint venture, the Grangemouth future industry board—of which we are members—the UK Government and the trade unions about maximising job opportunities, and we will look at how we can support the wider Grangemouth site and at the opportunities that are there for further job opportunities, so that the concerns that Mr Smyth fairly articulated are addressed as best they possibly can be in any interaction with commercial decisions that are taken by Petroineos.