A Tory minister is under fire after admitting that changes to regulations needed to help revive the troubled Grangemouth industrial complex will likely not be reshaped unless it benefits the entire UK.

Petorineos announced last year that Scotland’s only oil refinery would close and transition to becoming an oil import terminal, sparking fears for hundreds of jobs.

The company said the refinery is “highly inefficient” and it cannot continue to run at a loss.

However it will operate until at least spring 2025 and other parts of the Grangemouth complex – such as the Forties pipeline system which brings in North Sea oil and gas – will continue.

Ahead of crunch talks involving UK and Scottish ministers to try and alleviate the situation last week, UK energy minister Graham Stuart told MSPs on Holyrood's Economy Committee that he has ruled out his administration intervening to prop up the refinery.

Read more: UK minister rules out propping up doomed Grangemouth refinery

MSPs heard in December that the refinery will need to pay £40 million for a licence to operate beyond May 2025.

But Mr Stuart confirmed that the UK Government has no intention of intervening - warning it would not give taxpayers a good deal.

Now minutes released from last week’s meeting show that Mr Stewart “would consider proposals that are brought forward” by the company.

Mr Stewart also suggested that rules that would allow the plant to become a hub for biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) are unlikely to be altered unless the entire UK benefits.

At the meeting, Iain Hardie from Petroineos set out the ambition for biofuels and SAF, but warned that a UK Government cap on hydrotreated esters and fatty acids (HEFA) for SAF production would need to be addressed.

Read more: SNP ministers criticised for delayed Grangemouth just transition plan

According to the minutes, Mr Hardie said that “the current position is commercially suboptimal with the current cap in place”.

Mr Stuart then told the meeting that it was “unlikely” that national policy would be “reshaped unless it is applicable to all parts of the UK”, adding that “changing national policy will be difficult”.

SNP Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy Secretary, Neil Gray, has written to Mr Stuart, asking for another meeting and stressing that “collaboration is going to be critical to secure a long term sustainable future for the Grangemouth industrial cluster”.

In his letter, he added: “Grangemouth is of strategic importance to the economy, not just of Scotland, but of the whole of the UK.”

Mr Gray has warned that “there are serious regulatory barriers to the owners developing some of its most viable new, more sustainable, economic opportunities - such as sustainable aviation fuel”.

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He added: “If the message from the UK Government is that they are not going to make changes unless it suits the rest of the UK, then this is simply not good enough. Grangemouth’s hard workers and the wider community deserve better – and our future as a net zero country - depends on them stepping up.

“All of us want to see the best possible future for Grangemouth – but the key powers in this area lie at Westminster, and we will continue to push them to make the necessary changes to ensure that it plays a key role in powering Scotland’s drive to net zero.

“On the refinery and on other future opportunities for the Grangemouth site, the Scottish Government stands ready to work with UK ministers to see a sustainable future for the site.”