Grangemouth refinery owner Ineos has been offered US $1billion by PetroChina for a 50% share in the Scottish refinery and its Lavera installation in France, following the proposal of a joint venture between the two companies last month.

The partnership with PetroChina will comprise a trading joint venture and a refining joint venture. A new Swiss company will be incorporated to hold the Ineos investment, and the two joint ventures will be operated independently of the Ineos Group.

Ineos and PetroChina will work towards forming the proposed joint ventures in quarter two of this year.

The Grangemouth refinery, located on the Firth of Forth with direct access to crude oil and gas from the North Sea, processes around 210,000 barrels of crude per day, providing fuel to Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland.