22 hours Ago By Craig Paton
Potential projects to replace the Grangemouth refinery could be off the ground by 2030 “if not before”, MPs have heard. The findings of Project Willow – a report which looked at options for the site as it prepares to close in the coming months – were released last month, detailing nine potential avenues, including the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is backed by union leaders. Speaking before the Scottish Affairs Committee, Anu Bhambi, a partner at the report’s author EY-Parthenon, said: “Our hypothesis is that you could have some assets off the ground by the end of the decade, if not before.
” For the production of SAF to take place in Scotland and be economical, a hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (Hefa) plant would need to be built, which Mr Bhambi said could be up and running in the early part of the next decade. In a previous session of the committee, union leaders said the refinery site could begin producing SAF now, but Mr Bhambi and owners Petroineos, said regulatory issues and the investment required would mean it would be years before progress could be made. “As we’ve looked at the assets, we do disagree (with the unions),” Mr Bhambi said.
“They’re not comparable constructs of refinery, so the machines and the parts of the refinery that they reference are just not the same. “That’s the first point, the second point is coming back to our timeline. “Our timeline includes time for Government to evolve policy and regulations where appropriate, time for private sector parties to come on board and to get comfortable with what they want to design and build and the for that development period.
” Iain Hardie, the head of legal and external affairs at Petroineos confirmed that 377 people have taken voluntary redundancy, while 28 compulsory redundancies were handed down, with all staff receiving 18 months of pay. Some 36 members of staff have been transferred to Ineos , while the 18 apprentices at the site will be able to complete their training and 65 will be kept on as the refinery transitions to an import terminal. There will also likely be redundancies at Ineos, according to the firm’s sustainability and external relations director Colin Pritchard’s evidence at the committee, but a consultation is currently ongoing to ascertain the numbers and the terms they will receive.
But despite the 18 months wages, Petroineos workers will likely leave the area well before another project is off the ground, which will mean the local Forth Valley College will play a key role in any future investment, Mr Hardie said. “They will be central in taking the future case for skills that we have identified and making sure that we are able to put in place the necessary programmes such that there is a flow of young talent that can come and work at Grangemouth, be it at a bio-refinery, be it in a green plastics plant or in a hydrogen facility,” Mr Hardie told MPs. “Taking a step back, we’re agnostic as to what that technology is, we just want to see good jobs at Grangemouth.
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