THE Grangemouth refinery has now ceased processing crude oil, its owner Petroineos has confirmed.
From today, Petroineos has said it will be importing "all the products necessary to meet Scotland’s demand for transport fuels".
In September last year the company said the refining activities would cease in 2025 as it transitions to becoming an import terminal for finished fuels.
Yesterday, the UK Government was urged to take “urgent and decisive action” over the £200 million promised to Grangemouth workers in February.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK Government would invest £200m into Grangemouth and that it should bring in “three times that” in private funding, bringing the total to £800m.
The financial package from the UK Government is an attempt to ensure that high-quality jobs and economic opportunity are not lost in the area.
Owners Petroineos, which is shutting the plant this year with a loss of around 400 jobs, said the site makes a loss of £380,000 every day.
However, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes urged Starmer to accelerate the progress on the Acorn Carbon Capture project at Peterhead after the UK Government announced further funding for carbon capture projects in England without mention of finance or progress for the Scottish Cluster.
At the time of the announcement, the SNP accused the Labour Government of treating Scotland as an afterthought.
On Tuesday, at a parliamentary debate on supporting Scottish industry, Forbes is expected to call on the UK Government to be more transparent with the funds ringfenced for Grangemouth.
Iain Hardie, regional head of legal and external affairs, said: “Grangemouth refinery is no longer processing crude oil. Petroineos has invested £50 million in creating a modern import and distribution terminal capable of receiving finished fuels by sea for onward distribution to customers around the country.
“From today, we will be importing all the products necessary to meet Scotland’s demand for transport fuels.”
He continued: “We would like to pay tribute to the workforce here. Our colleagues have shown incredible commitment, dignity and resilience during months of uncertainty regarding the future of this facility, through the consultation period, phased shutdown and the start of refinery decommissioning.
“It has been a challenging period but their professionalism has ensured security of fuel supply to our customers across Scotland and beyond.”
Leishman told the Commons: “Today is the end of over a century of refining at Grangemouth.
“Scotland once again is a victim of industrial vandalism and devastation, and I don’t want anyone in this chamber to dare mention a ‘just transition’, because we all know that the Conservatives when in power and the SNP currently in Holyrood did nothing to avert this catastrophic decision happening.
“I put it to the Secretary of State (Ed Miliband), the Labour leadership in the general election campaign said they would step in and save the jobs at the refinery. What has changed? And why have we not done the sensible thing for Scotland’s energy security?”
Leishman shook his head and shouted “not enough” as Energy Secretary Mr Miliband replied: “Grangemouth has a really important role in Scotland.
“What I would say to him and to others is this Government, as soon as it saw the situation it inherited, put money in to help the workers and has made this huge investment commitment of £200 million working hand-in-glove with the Scottish Government so we absolutely build a future in Grangemouth.”
Miliband had earlier described the situation at Grangemouth as “very, very important issue”.
First Minister John Swinney 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.
The Scottish Government has provided up to £450,000 for a skills intervention which is being delivered by Forth Valley College to help retrain and upskill affected workers.
Alba Party Leader Kenny MacAskill described the news as "a dark day for Scotland and a betrayal of the workforce by Labour", adding: "At the election, they promised to save the refinery but have gone back on that pledge whilst at the same time saving British Steel in Scunthorpe.
“Labour have cynically pocketed the votes of the workers and then abandoned them once elected. This is a betrayal for which Labour will never be forgiven.
“Scotland is now the only major oil producing nation in the world not to have its own refining capacity."
“The skills of the workforce have been sacrificed and Grangemouth reduced to an import export terminal," MacAskill went on, concluding: “This is the cost of the Union and demonstrates how Scotland is powerless without Independence.
“Independence is required so we can protect what is left of Scottish industry and put Scottish workers first.”
Greens MSP Gillian Mackay, who grew up 200 yards from the refinery and represents Grangemouth, said the development was "devastating for the workers and community of Grangemouth".
Mackay 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.
“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 fuels.
“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.”
In her speech to STUC Congress, referencing the news on the closure of Grangemouth oil refinery, general secretary Roz Foyer paid tribute to the work done by Unite Union to secure a future for the site.
She said: "Congress, given the news today, nowhere symbolises that more than Grangemouth and I want to pay tribute to the campaign waged by the Unite Union members to secure a long-term future for their site.
"But the failure to keep the refinery open is an inexcusable, and unforgiveable failure of both the Scottish and UK Governments - a failure that cannot be ignored. Workers were served warm words and platitudes from our politicians – from this very stage today and yesterday – whilst on the ground they are receiving redundancy notices.
"It’s high time both they and the billionaire class who own our national industries were properly held to account if we ever hope to make a just transition a reality. "
