Scottish ministers are not aware of a potential buyer for the Grangemouth oil refinery, the acting Energy Secretary has said.
The country’s last remaining oil refinery will close in the second quarter of 2025, with 400 jobs expected to be axed as the plant moves to an import terminal.
Gillian Martin, who is handling the energy and net zero brief while Mairi McAllan is on maternity leave, said the Scottish Government and Petroineos – the owners of the refinery – were not aware of a buyer.
Falkirk East MSP Michelle Thomson offered mysterious hope for the plant’s future when she announced she had found a potential buyer.
She has signed a non-disclosure agreement and is limited in what she can say, but she told journalists last week the refinery could be saved in its entirety, with a “serious” international buyer considering a move.
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The 100-year-old Grangemouth refinery is a joint venture between Ineos and PetroChina, who said last week’s losses totalled $500,000 - £381,000 – per day.
The closure was announced in November, with the date confirmed by owners last week.
Speaking on BBC Scotland’s the Sunday Show, the acting energy secretary echoed First Minister John Swinney’s comments that the closure was “premature” with Petroineos being urged to reconsider.
“It has always been our position with Petroineos that we wanted the refinery to continue as long as possible.
“The closure announcement has come a little bit earlier than we all thought.”
However, addressing the potential buyer, she said: “We have no idea who that is. Michelle has been speaking to somebody but the Scottish Government has not spoken to that person or that company.
“I’m not entirely sure if that person has spoken to Petroineos. We need to remember that Petroineos owns the site and if someone is interested then obviously going Petroineos would be the first thing that they should do.”
It was put to Ms Martin that the discussion of a potential buyer could be giving “false hope” to Grangemouth workers.
She said: “We have no information. I think one of the things that I’m slightly wary of is that Petroineos actually said around last November last year that their intention was to close the refinery in its current form and turn it into a import terminal.
Petroineos' move to an imports terminal will see around a fifth of jobs cut from the Grangemouth site.
It is thought up to 280 workers could go in the three months following the closure while another 100 would be retained for up to a year to allow for decommissioning work.
The GMB union wrote a scathing letter to both the UK and Scottish Governments, warning that job cuts at Grangemouth would only be the "tip of the iceberg" unless the position against new oil and gas licences was dropped.
The UK Government has a ban on new oil and gas licences in the North Sea, while the Scottish Government said new explorations will only be approved if they meet certain climate compatibility tests.
A Petroineos spokesman confirmed the firm had seen "no evidence of a credible bid" for the refinery.
The statement said: "If a genuine offer is forthcoming, we will engage seriously with it.
"Since Petroineos was formed in 2011, our shareholders have invested nearly £1 billion in the refinery, absorbing losses of more than £590 million in the same period. This year alone, we are anticipating losses of more than £150 million.
Speaking on the BBC Scotland programme, Ms Martin also said she hoped a £100 million joint support package from the UK and Scottish Government would work to alleviate job cuts.
But the GMB warned the support package had come "far too late".
UK energy minister and Scottish Labour MP Michael Shanks said on the Sunday Show: "There is no doubt that this is a really disappointing moment for the workforce certainly, but for the industrial future of Grangemouth and for Scotland."
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