The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Union fears over BP oil pipeline sale to Ineos
Unite says acquisition would hand ‘incredible’ power to Ineos chairman
Unite has warned an “incredible amount of power” over Scotland’s economic future will lie in the hands of petrochemicals billionaire Jim Ratcliffe if Ineos secures a deal to acquire the Forties oil pipeline from BP.
Union Scottish Secretary Pat Rafferty said the move also raised concerns for the future of members within BP who would transfer across to work for Ineos at Grangemouth if a deal is struck.
Mr Rafferty said: “Our members at BP will have major concerns about the possibility of becoming employees of Ineos, a company with a clear history of attacking our members’ pensions, as well as their terms and conditions, in order to maximise profit.
“If a sale does go ahead, we will fight to protect our members in every way we can, and Ineos should work with us to allay their fears.”
Unite has had a fractious relationship with the Grangemouth complex, having been involved in two major disputes in 2008 and 2013.
During the latter action, Mr Ratcliffe, Ineos Group’s founder and chairman, threatened to close Grangemouth altogether if a resolution to the industrial unrest could not be reached.
That threat was later abandoned and Ineos has since poured tens of millions of pounds into upgrading the Grangemouth site, including building a new import terminal to allow shale feedstock imports from the US.
Mr Rafferty said if Ineos also took control of the Forties pipeline, a key piece of infrastructure serving the North Sea oil sector, then Mr Ratcliffe’s already sizeable influence over Scotland’s economy would be enormous.
“The Forties Pipeline System carries a massive amount of the UK’s oil,” Mr Rafferty said.
“Grangemouth is one of the country’s major refineries. Both of these pieces of vital national infrastructure could soon be effectively in the hands of one man. That is an incredible amount of power.
“It’s not so long ago that both Grangemouth and the Forties pipeline were owned by all of us, and operated by a nationalised British Petroleum with a responsibility to look at what was good for the country as a whole, not just what was good for a small group of wealthy individuals.”
Mr Rafferty said a national debate was needed on the subject.
“Do our politicians believe in an economy where power is widely held and used for the benefit of us all, or are they happy with power in the hands of a tiny minority whose biggest concern is their own personal benefit?” he said.
“Is it right, or sensible, to give the power to turn off the taps – and bring the entire country to a standstill – to one private company, without any democratic involvement or oversight?
A spokesman for Ineos said talks with BP over Forties were ongoing.
“Ineos can confirm that it is currently in discussions with BP regarding the potential purchase of the Forties Pipeline System,” they said.
“At the moment the details of these conversations are confidential and we cannot say any more at this stage.
“Should this situation change we will communicate this to you straight away.”