The closure of Scotland's only oil refinery could cost more than 3,000 jobs across the supply chain.
Petroineos representatives told a Holyrood committee that forecasts suggest seven jobs are lost in the supply chain for every job lost in refining. That would mean 2,800 supply chain jobs would be lost, in addition to the 400 that are set to go at Grangemouth.
Around 75 jobs will reman at the site to run the import and export terminal, after the closure takes place between April and June next year.
However, just hours after the news about the site's closure broke, Falkirk East MSP Michelle Thomson told Holyrood she has held "initial discussions" with an unnamed North American company about taking over the site.
Grangemouth 'unable to compete' with global sites
The refinery is the only one in Scotland and oldest of six in the UK. It supplies nearly two-thirds of Scotland's oil products.
Site owner Petroineos - a joint venture between PetroChina and Ineos - said the refinery faces "significant challenges" as demand for key fuels "has already started to decline".
With more modern Petroineos sites across the world, chief executive Frank Demay said the firm is "exploring more ways to adapt our business".
"With a ban on new petrol and diesel cars due to come into force within the next decade, we foresee that the market for those fuels will shrink further,” Mr Demay said.
“That reality, aligned with the cost of maintaining a refinery built half a century ago, means we are exploring ways to adapt our business.”
Petroineos has invested nearly £1bn since 2011 to maintain operations at Grangemouth, which has resulted in losses of nearly £600m.
The company said it is "increasingly unable to compete" with sites in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Can jobs be saved?
In a surprising turn of events, Falkirk East MSP Michelle Thomson told Holyrood that she has held talks with a potential buyer for the site, just hours after the announcement of its closure was made.
Ms Thomson told the chamber: "I have had an approach by a person whom I believe to be serious with an appetite and a willingness to buy the Grangemouth refinery in its entirety including its jobs.
"I have had some brief, initial discussions and I believe this to be a serious proposition.
"However, there is clearly a great deal of work to be done and it is clearly not mine to sell."
A non-disclosure agreement prevented Ms Thomson for sharing any more details about the deal, including why the company hasn't put forward a proposal in the last year.
A Petroineos spokesperson said: "It’s nearly a year since Petroineos first signalled its intention to stop refining at Grangemouth so there’s been plenty of time for potential buyers to express an interest and we would have engaged seriously with any credible proposition.
"We have contacted Michelle Thomson MSP today, with a view to understanding her position."