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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 15 July 2025
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Displaying 1342 contributions

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Economy and Fair Work Committee

Just Transition (North-east and Moray)

Meeting date: 10 January 2024

Kevin Stewart

You said earlier that it has to be a bottom-up process and that we must listen to people. That is certainly how I think that it should happen. We are getting there. In the main, people feel involved. However, in the discussion around the bottom-up aspect, there are frustrations around the resource that is available. I recognise that the Scottish Government has come up with a just transition fund, for which we are grateful. A lot of that funding, though, is capital funding. Community organisations, in particular, feel that there needs to be much more access to revenue resource funding.

10:00  

Minister, is there a way that there could be co-operation between all the public services to match up some of the resource funding that is required to allow certain projects to get off the ground? Also, I am interested to hear any comments that you have around communication with the United Kingdom Government to try to get it to match the just transition funding that the Scottish Government has put into the north-east and Moray.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Petroineos Grangemouth

Meeting date: 13 December 2023

Kevin Stewart

I am sorry to interrupt, but one reason why I asked the question is that this is not just about Scotland. It is also about the set-up of the refineries in the rest of the UK and even in the Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp triangle that Petroineos talked about. What is the situation in the north-west of Europe at the moment? How old are the refineries and what are their capabilities?

We recognise that oil and gas will still have some part to play in the future—a significant part, in some instances—and it would be much better to deal with that here than to import from some of the more modern refineries in the middle east and China that have been mentioned, not only from the carbon footprint point of view, but also from the energy security point of view. We have to look at the issue holistically. I will ask the UK Government those questions when it comes to the committee.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Petroineos Grangemouth

Meeting date: 13 December 2023

Kevin Stewart

There was no demand in your original business plan to ensure that you were supplying the refinery.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Petroineos Grangemouth

Meeting date: 13 December 2023

Kevin Stewart

Just mix it all up, please.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Petroineos Grangemouth

Meeting date: 13 December 2023

Kevin Stewart

It is the importation aspect that gets me. We are talking a lot about energy security. Let us look at this in layman’s terms. We have the North Sea basin producing crude. You are refining that crude into various products.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Petroineos Grangemouth

Meeting date: 13 December 2023

Kevin Stewart

That is my point. Do we need to import as much crude, and cannot we utilise the North Sea basin and what it is producing to a greater degree? I recognise that there are different types of crude and all the rest of it—

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Petroineos Grangemouth

Meeting date: 13 December 2023

Kevin Stewart

Good morning. I want to go back to some of the comments that have already been made about the Scottish cluster and the Acorn project. To quote you, Mr Pritchard—if I misquote you, you can tell me—you have said that your plans remain unchanged around the Scottish cluster and the Acorn project and that you are continuing with them. However, you are looking at a substantial change to the business. Could you explain why you feel that your commitment and your planned works for the Scottish cluster and the Acorn project remain unchanged?

10:00  

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Petroineos Grangemouth

Meeting date: 13 December 2023

Kevin Stewart

Okay.

I want to move to a few other issues to do with the biorefinery. I would also like to hear a little bit more about your plans for hydrogen, which you have already mentioned. Beyond that, where are you with regard to sustainable aviation fuel and its production, which will be extremely important? What will be the impact of the proposed closure of the refinery—you are unable to tell us when that will be at this moment—on those ambitions? Beyond that, what effect does the refinery plans have on the confidence of future investors in relation to what you are looking to scope for the future?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Petroineos Grangemouth

Meeting date: 13 December 2023

Kevin Stewart

I will move on a bit, because there has been talk of energy security. Members have asked questions about the Forties pipeline and what comes in at Kinneil. You have discussed in great depth current exports to ARA, and you have talked about a crude mix from international markets.

With regard to energy security and the carbon footprint, is not there an argument that more crude oil should come in through the Forties pipeline to Grangemouth? You have talked about Finnart and about the pipeline being used for diesel. I have not heard anything about petrol or kerosene and how they would come into the import plant. From an energy security perspective, would not it be better to utilise the Forties pipeline to Grangemouth more, rather than relying on international shipping coming in to Finnart? Do you have a general comment on that? I might then have some specifics to address.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Petroineos Grangemouth

Meeting date: 13 December 2023

Kevin Stewart

We also discussed hydrogen production and the biorefinery project earlier this morning, and the previous panel was keen to talk about importing sustainable aviation fuel. Have you had any discussions with the UK Government and other partners about manufacturing sustainable aviation fuel? As an Orcadian, you will realise the essential role that aviation will continue to play in Scotland as we move forward. What can be done to try to ensure that Scotland plays a part in manufacturing SAF? Can that be done at Grangemouth as part of the just transition?