Hundreds of construction posts are set to be created at BP’s Kinneil facility at Grangemouth after a new gas plant development was approved.
The 159MWe combined heat and power facility will provide steam to drive the oil separation processes at Kinneil.
The facility, which is adjacent to the Grangemouth petrochemicals complex, processes around 40% of the North Sea crude piped through the vital Forties Pipeline System.
The Scottish Government said development of the new plant will help provide “long-term security of service” to developers looking to open up new oil and gas fields in the North Sea.
The green light for the new station came as ScottishPower moved to bring operations at the nearby Longannet power facility to an early close.
The new CHP plant could create up to 400 temporary construction jobs, but it is unclear how many permanent roles the facility will create.
Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: “There is consensus across stakeholders that we must retain critical infrastructure to ensure the long-term viability of the North Sea oil and gas industry.
“There is a long-term sustainable future for the North Sea which will be supported by investments such as these at BP Kinneil Terminal and we are committed to using every lever at our disposal to support the industry through this challenging time.”
A BP spokesman said: “We are delighted that Scottish Ministers have granted consent for the combined heat and power plant at Kinneil.
“This plant, which will be built by a third party under a ‘build, own, operate’ model, will provide a disposal route for all dry gas, which is one of the product streams coming from the almost 100 fields who use FPS.
“Without a robust disposal route for dry gas, FPS cannot operate. This is therefore a major project to protect the offshore production from the UK’s oil and gas industry.
“It will also meet all steam and power demands for Kinneil.
“It is expected that the new CHP will be operational by January 2018.”