It was announced earlier this month that Ineos, who own the Grangemouth oil refinery in a joint venture with the state-owned PetroChina, had acquired more oil and gas assets in the US Gulf.

Ineos said that the completion of the deal marked the third “major investment” by the firm in the US in the past three years and increased the spend on energy assets in the country to more than three billion dollars.

Last year, Ineos announced it would close its Grangemouth site and would make 400 workers redundant as it said Scotland’s only oil refinery was no longer profitable despite posting record profits of more than £100 million in 2024.

Falkirk East MSP Michelle Thomson MSP said that Grangemouth is a strategically critical infrastructure and that it should play a key role in Scotland’s green energy transition.

“The news that Ineos is investing billions in US oil and gas assets whilst letting its Grangemouth site die will be a kick in the teeth for the hundreds of workers set to lose their livelihoods at the refinery,” she said.

“While the UK Labour Government was asleep at the wheel when it came to securing a sustainable future for Grangemouth, it was able to underwrite £600 million for Ineos to develop a new plant in Belgium.

“As the UK’s only oil refinery, the Grangemouth site is strategic critical infrastructure which should play a key role in the switch to green energy, the UK’s energy security and securing Scottish energy jobs.”