After more than a century of refining oil, the Grangemouth facility in central Scotland fell silent this April, marking the end of an era for the nation’s last operating oil refinery. The closure, announced by Petroineos in the wake of mounting financial losses, triggered the loss of around 400 jobs and cast uncertainty over the future of a site that once directly employed 2,000 people. Now, with the dust still settling, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to announce up to £14.5 million in new investment for Grangemouth as part of the UK government’s latest Budget—a move that both raises hopes and prompts questions about the area’s economic future.
The announcement, expected on November 24, 2025, comes as part of a broader push to transform Grangemouth from a fossil fuel stronghold into a hub for clean energy and green industry. According to BBC Scotland News, about £12.5 million of the new funding is genuinely fresh, while another £2 million will be drawn from the Department for Energy and Net Zero’s existing budget. Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander, speaking to BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast, emphasized the government’s commitment: “I’ve been working hard with the Treasury to make sure that, while we are working to find a commercial buyer for Grangemouth, we are also unlocking new funds that will be able to provide new jobs and new opportunities on the site.”
This latest financial commitment is designed to “target jobs on the Grangemouth site,” Alexander said, highlighting the urgent need to replace positions lost during the refinery’s transition. When redundancy letters landed at the start of 2025, only 65 of the 500 refinery jobs were expected to survive. The wider site—encompassing the Forties pipeline from the North Sea and the Ineos petrochemicals business—once supported 2,000 workers, underscoring the scale of the challenge ahead.
But the £14.5 million is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. The UK government has faced mounting criticism for failing to deliver on a much more substantial pledge: £200 million from the National Wealth Fund, promised last year by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as an “investment in Scotland’s industrial future.” Unlocking those funds, officials say, requires finding a commercial partner willing to invest in the site—a task Alexander described as “scouring the earth” to achieve. Until then, the new investment is intended to act as a “starter,” helping Grangemouth prepare for its next chapter and, crucially, to unlock the bigger pot of money down the line.
For many in the community, the sense of urgency is palpable. Chris Hamilton, who represented Unite the union during the redundancy process, told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast, “What we need is less talking and more action. We need to create these jobs of the future.” Hamilton’s frustration reflects a wider sentiment among workers and locals who, as he put it, have “not seen a penny” of the £200 million previously announced. In August, Unite publicly accused the government of abandoning workers, and skepticism remains high that new announcements might be more “glossy PR” than practical relief.
The loss of Grangemouth as a refining powerhouse was not just a blow to its workforce but also a symbolic moment in Scotland’s energy transition. The refinery’s closure, attributed to the prohibitive costs of upgrading the aging facility, forced Petroineos—a partnership between Ineos and China’s PetroChina—to convert the site into a fuel import terminal. The decision came despite trade union disputes over the necessity and cost of such a move.
Yet, even as the old industry winds down, new visions are taking shape. A £1.5 million feasibility study, known as Project Willow, has mapped out nine potential pathways for Grangemouth’s future as a low-carbon energy hub. Ideas on the table include hydrothermal plastics recycling and anaerobic digestion, both of which could attract private sector investment and support the UK’s broader clean energy ambitions. These proposals, if realized, could help Grangemouth pivot from its fossil-fuel legacy to become a leader in the green industrial revolution.
The UK government insists its commitment to Grangemouth is more than just rhetoric. “These investments will help deliver a fair transition for Grangemouth, securing jobs for local people way into the future,” a Treasury source told The Scotsman. The £14.5 million, they added, is intended to “help put the community on a firm footing and strengthen its place as part of the clean energy revolution.”
But the government’s approach has not been without its critics. The delivery of the £200 million National Wealth Fund remains stalled, and the search for a commercial partner has so far proved fruitless. Meanwhile, the area is grappling with other industrial shocks—most notably, the impending closure of the Mossmorran chemical plant in Fife, which threatens more than 400 additional jobs. Scottish officials have called on Westminster to intervene, citing the nationalization of British Steel in Scunthorpe as a precedent, but UK ministers have so far described closures as “commercial decisions.”
Still, Grangemouth’s transition is being supported on multiple fronts. Last November, the Scottish and UK governments signed the Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal, promising £100 million for the area, including a new Skills Transition Centre to help locals retrain and find work in emerging industries. In February 2025, First Minister John Swinney added another £25 million in funding, while the UK government has also invested in clean energy elsewhere in Scotland, such as the £17.3 million Aberdeen Energy Transition Zone and the new headquarters for GB Energy in Aberdeen.
Local leaders remain hopeful that, with the right support, Grangemouth can reinvent itself. Alloa and Grangemouth MP Brian Leishman echoed the Prime Minister’s optimism, saying, “Grangemouth, as the PM said, is an area of industrial brilliance, and it should be the UK’s capital for the green industrial revolution that the country needs.”
For now, the community waits for the details promised in Wednesday’s Budget announcement. While £14.5 million is a welcome lifeline, the real test will be whether it can spark the broader transformation—and job creation—that locals have been promised. As Scotland’s energy landscape continues to shift, Grangemouth stands at a crossroads, its future hanging on the successful delivery of investments that have, so far, been slow to materialize.
With so much at stake, the coming months will reveal whether Grangemouth’s industrial heart can beat anew in the era of clean energy—or whether promises of a fair transition remain just that: promises.
