Asked by: Brian Leishman (Independent - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the press release entitled Supporting Grangemouth workers, published on 26 August 2025, how much additional funding has been allocated; and how much and what proportion of that funding has been provided by the (a) UK and (b) Scottish Government.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The extension of the Grangemouth Training Guarantee to support INEOS Olefins & Polymers shared services employees directly affected by the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery builds on support put in place earlier this year for Grangemouth refinery workers. This brings the total projected investment in the Grangemouth Training Guarantee from UK and Scottish Governments up to £2 million. The Grangemouth Training Guarantee is a joint project between UK and Scottish Governments and both governments will provide equal funding.
We are working closely with Forth Valley College who will mapping workers skills and qualifications, and training needs to identify and deliver re/upskilling support and training. UK and Scottish Governments will use the findings of the Training Need Analysis to fund the delivery of training. Final costs are dependent on the outcome of the Training Need Analysis.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Independent - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of replacing domestically refined oil with imported oil at Grangemouth on the UK's balance of payments.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We do not expect a substantial impact as Grangemouth already imported more than 90% of its crude oil in 2023.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Independent - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had discussions with Ineos on the country of origin of the crude oil it intends to import into the Grangemouth refinery.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Independent - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with the oil and gas industry on the effectiveness of the industry's processes for developing safety standards for offshore oil and gas workers.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Independent - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with the oil and gas industry on the effectiveness of the industry's checks for valid safety certification among prospective offshore workers.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Independent - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to ensure a just transition for oil and gas (a) communities and (b) workers.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We intend to manage the North Sea in a way that ensures a fair, orderly and prosperous transition, with no community left behind. We have already launched Great British Energy, begun the biggest ever investment in offshore wind, and are moving ahead with new North Sea industries like carbon capture and storage and hydrogen. The UK has a highly skilled oil and gas workforce, with high transferability of skills to these new roles. We have also created the Office for Clean Energy Jobs to ensure that clean energy jobs are abundant, high-quality, fairly paid, and have good working conditions.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Independent - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the financial information provided by Petroineos; and what discussions he has had with Petroineos on that information.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Petroineos is a private company – a joint venture between PetroChina and INEOS. We have worked closely with the company and with the Scottish Government to understand the financial challenges facing the Grangemouth refinery. Petroineos’ shareholders have invested more than $1.2bn since 2011 to maintain the refinery’s safe operation, recording losses in excess of $775m during the same period. The Government pushed the company to continue refining for as long as possible however the company made clear that there was no viable commercial future for the refinery operation, which it will now convert to an import terminal.
Details of Ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Independent - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with representatives of the Grangemouth oil refinery on operational difficulties.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers’ and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Published declarations include the purpose of the meeting and the names of any additional external organisations or individuals in attendance.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Independent - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the impact of the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery on consumers.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is deeply disappointing to learn that Petroineos has confirmed its previous decision to close the oil refining operation at Grangemouth. All of my thoughts are with the workers and their families and the wider Grangemouth community.
The Grangemouth site will now convert to an import terminal. Imports are already part of the UK’s diverse and resilient energy mix. Since 2013, the UK has been a net importer of refined products, with imports accounting for 51% of UK demand for all petroleum products in 2023. Grangemouth refinery already imported almost all of its crude oil supply: it only received 13% of its crude oil supply from the North Sea via the Forties Pipeline in 2022.
Scotland already imports fuel via other sites, which is sold at competitive prices, so we do not expect imports via the Grangemouth site to impact road fuel prices in Scotland nor across the UK.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Independent - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what information his Department holds on the potential amount of funding required to keep the Grangemouth oil refinery in operation for the next 12 months.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Grangemouth refinery is a private business owned by Petroineos. Petroineos stated that its shareholders have invested more than $1.2bn since 2011 to maintain the refinery’s safe operation, recording losses in excess of $775m during the same period. The company made clear that there was no viable commercial future for the refinery operation at Grangemouth.