Scotland’s solely oil refinery may stop operations in 2025 – with a whole lot of jobs in danger underneath plans introduced by house owners Petroineos.

The agency stated the Grangemouth website has confronted “significant challenges” as a consequence of international market pressures and the vitality transition.

Petroineos is aiming to rework the location right into a fuels import terminal, with the work anticipated to take 18 months.

The firm stated the refinery is anticipated to proceed working till no less than spring 2025.

Around 500 persons are straight employed on the Grangemouth website.

Union Unite stated it could “leave no stone unturned in the fight for jobs”.

Petroineos stated it was “working closely” on the venture with a “range of interested parties”, together with the Scottish and UK governments, and stated extra data can be offered in “due course”.

Franck Demay, CEO of Petroineos Refining, stated: “This does not change anything for our operation today, where it is business-as-usual at the Grangemouth refinery. We currently anticipate continuing refinery operations until spring 2025.

“As the vitality transition gathers tempo, this can be a vital step in adapting our enterprise to replicate the decline in demand for the kind of fuels we produce. As a prudent operator, we should plan accordingly, however the exact timeline for implementing any change has but to be decided.”

The agency stated the transfer will “safeguard the site as a national fuel hub for decades to come”.

The preparatory work will make it potential to import petrol, diesel, aviation gasoline and kerosene into Scotland from vessels arriving by way of the Firth of Forth.

The firm additionally intends to progress work to allow the conversion of its current export terminal at Finnart on the Firth of Clyde – which is linked to Grangemouth by cross-country pipelines – right into a diesel import facility.

Mr Demay added: “This is the start of a journey to transform our operation from one that manufactures fuel products, into a business that imports finished fuel products for onward distribution to customers.

“Throughout this course of, our focus will stay on the secure manufacturing and dependable provide of high-quality fuels to our clients in Scotland, the north of England, and Northern Ireland.

“As we start to make this investment in preparing for a future transformation, we are equally committed to a regular programme of engagement with our colleagues about the changes we are making to our business.”

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Unite stated the plans “raise concerns for the livelihoods of our members”.

Sharon Graham, normal secretary of the union, stated: “Unite will leave no stone unturned in the fight for jobs and will hold politicians to account for their actions.”

Derek Thomson, Unite Scottish secretary, added: “Every option must be on the table in order to secure the hundreds of highly skilled jobs based at the Grangemouth complex for the long term.”

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The Scottish Tories described the scenario as “devastating” for the employees and a “hammer blow” for the nationwide and native economies.

The Scottish Greens additionally criticised the transfer and stated it was an “appalling way to treat workers”.

MSP Gillian Mackay stated: “I grew up less than 200 yards from the plant and I can tell you right now that workers at the plant are bewildered, betrayed and furious at finding out about this from a story on the internet long after shareholders were made aware.

“They have been given subsequent to no data. In reality, I broke the news to at least one senior union official.”

Ms Mackay is calling for an urgent summit to be held and is demanding the Grangemouth Just Transition Board to share “what they knew and when”.

She added: “Make no mistake, we should transfer away from fossil fuels. But that is the precise reverse of a simply transition.

“This is not a staged change towards a more sustainable way of working. This is the industry cutting and running and offshoring expertise to continue making as much profit as possible.

“Fat cats can’t be trusted with the way forward for communities, all they care about is their shareholders.”

The original Grangemouth refinery, situated on the Firth of Forth, was established in 1924 and was one of the first crude oil refineries in the UK.

It is one of six crude oil refineries in the UK and is the only one in Scotland.

It sources its raw materials from North Sea oil fields, imported via the Forties Pipeline System, and from elsewhere around the world, imported into a deep-sea terminal on the west coast of Scotland.

Friends of the Earth Scotland blamed the Scottish government for Wednesday’s announcement, claiming it had “didn’t create credible transition plans with employees on the website”.

Just transition campaigner Rosie Hampton said: “Workers on the refinery and the broader neighborhood at Grangemouth deserve higher than how they’ve been handled in the present day by wealthy bosses in distant boardrooms.

“Escalating climate breakdown and the phase-out of fossil-fuelled vehicles means that the transition away from oil and gas is essential in the coming years.

“Today’s announcement is, sadly, the inevitable consequence of the Scottish authorities’s repeated failure to know this actuality and to place concrete transition plans in place with employees.”