As speculation continues to surround the future of the aging G4 plant at the Grangemouth site, there are fears PetroChina's recent interest in forming a partnership could ultimately lead to a buy out of the entire company – something Ineos bosses would not deny, stating "nothing is forever".

Site manager Gordon Grant talked about both issues at a meeting of Ineos Community Liaison Group on Tuesday night.

He said the consultation on the closure of the 40-year-old G4 ethylene plant, which could affect 100 staff, had ceased for the moment and would resume at the end of summer.

"It's just a matter of discussing when it will happen," he said. "We obviously have to consult with our employees before we say more. We are consulting on G4 and the possibility of running it into 2011 – that's
what we are trying to talk about just now."

He then moved on to recent news of ongoing talks between Ineos and PetroChina, the largest oil and gas producer and distributor in China and one of the largest oil companies in the world.

"We are looking to attract some cash into the site and looking to upgrade the site. One of the ways to do that is to look for partners.
We will see how that goes, but we have had some interest from PetroChina and that seems to have caught people's attention.

"PetroChina is the second largest refinery business in the world, but most of their business is in China so you don't hear about them. It's early days to say if something will come out of it."

A committee member asked Mr Grant directly if this would lead to a takeover of the company.

Mr Grant said: "Ineos has stated very clearly we are committed to the Grangemouth site, but nothing is forever. We will see what comes out of these discussions with PetroChina.

"It would be wrong for us to conclude what might or might not come out of these discussions – maybe nothing will come out of them."

PetroChina states it is committed to becoming an international energy company with strong competitiveness and one of the major producers and distributors of petroleum and petrochemical products in the world.

They recently purchased 45.5 per cent of publicly listed Singapore Petroleum for $1 billion and industry experts believe the move may lead to an outright takeover of the entire company.

Councillor Angus MacDonald, who was at Tuesday's meeting, said: "On one hand you have Ineos saying they are committed to Grangemouth, but everything in the global economy is frail at the moment.

"You just wonder how definite their commitment is. Ineos needs to attract investment due to the difficulties they have had in the past over financial matters. A deal with PetroChina may be their way of securing investment. But there may be a concern there."

The current financial situation led Ineos to scrap plans for a biodiesel plant earlier in the year and, despite the recent announcement of the company receiving £7.6 million government grant which reportedly helped secure 500 jobs at the site, the firm – like the rest of the world – was still in the grip of the recession.