Andrew Petersen is a third-generation oil refinery worker from a small, industrial Scottish town.

When he was growing up, working at Grangemouth refinery meant you "had a job for life".

But last month "everything changed", Petersen told AFP near the refinery, its giant cooling towers looming in the background.

On April 29, owner Petroineos announced it had ended operations at the refinery after more than a century, triggering the first of a phased wave of redundancies, including Petersen's.

The closure of the UK's oldest and Scotland's only refinery will result in more than 400 job cuts, which locals say the impoverished adjoining town of Grangemouth can ill afford.

Petroineos -- a joint venture of British chemical giant Ineos and the Chinese state-owned PetroChina -- says the refinery was losing around $500,000 (GBP376,600) a day as a result of changing market conditions and carbon-cutting measures.

It will be replaced by an import terminal, employing just 65 of the workforce including Chris Hamilton, who currently works as a refinery operator.

Since Petroineos announced its intention to wind down operations in 2023, workers like Petersen and Hamilton who are members of the Unite trade union........

© International Business Times