Grangemouth’s future potential will be sold to global investors in a targeted campaign.

The future of Grangemouth will be sold to global investors in a targeted campaign after a public body was inundated with dozens of enquiries to take on clean technology projects at the site.

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes told MSPs that Scottish Enterprise is poised to launch a campaign “marketing the Grangemouth opportunity to the world”.

Grangemouth can be a new hub for sustainable industries (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Ms Forbes’ update in Holyrood came a day after Petroineos confirmed the Grangemouth refinery was no longer processing crude oil.

The Deputy First Minister repeated her government’s criticism of Keir Starmer’s response to what she branded an “economic crisis”, warning Westminster could have stepped in to “stop this needless act of economic vandalism”.

John Swinney has claimed that the Labour government could have nationalised the site, that was losing £385,000 a day - but Ms Forbes pointed to more realistic actions.

She claimed the UK government could have chosen to “underpin operations” at the refinery to “bridge the transition to new technologies”, provided “employment support” for workers or “intervention to enable sustainable aviation fuel production at Grangemouth”.

Ms Forbes told MSPs there has been "tangible progress” in potential investors coming forward to play a part in the nine technologies set out in Project Willow, which will chart a long-term future for the site.

She said: “Scottish Enterprise is dealing with 66 inquiries aligned to both the full range of technologies set out in the report as well as to manufacturing activities carried out across the wider cluster.

“Scottish Enterprise have developed a triage process for assessing these projects, which will lead to due diligence on those that offer the best near-term fit.”

One potential blockage to Project Willow, alongside a lack of funding, with up to £3.5 billion needed and an overhaul of regulations, is competition with global investors as other countries mobilise to hand heavy industry a sustainable future.

But Ms Forbes told MSPs that the opportunities at Grangemouth, including chemical plastics recycling, producing bioethanol from Scottish timber and low-carbon hydrogen will be marketed to global investors in a targeted campaign.

She said: “Scottish Enterprise and my officials are working closely together on activity across the whole cluster with a view to realising the full potential for the site’s transformation.

“Scottish Enterprise’s approach is also not limited to dealing with inbound inquiries, it includes marketing the Grangemouth opportunity to the world.

“To this end, Scottish Enterprise will also be undertaking investor outreach work to attract world class projects and investors to the site.”

Amid the decision to close the refinery, Ms Forbes stressed that “workers are at the forefronts of our minds”.

She added: “We have already provided £450,000 in funding to support their transition into other roles through a bespoke skills intervention being delivered by Forth Valley College.

“I’m pleased that already, 168 workers are engaging in retraining activity and the majority of the remaining workforce are registered for training to commence in the coming weeks.”

Scottish Conservative MSP Stephen Kerr said the confirmation the refinery has closed was “devastating for the workers, the local community and our economy”.

He added: “The SNP cannot escape responsibility for their role in this crisis by pointing blame elsewhere. The years of hostility towards our oil and gas industry from the SNP and Labour has undoubtedly been a significant factor in production ceasing.

“Workers at Grangemouth deserve answers, not more posturing. If the SNP do not pull out all the stops to deliver new investment, then they run the risk of similar job losses occurring across the sector.”

Targeted campaign to sell Grangemouth's future to the world as dozens of investors line up

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