The Finnart oil terminal on Loch Long will be used by the Ministry of Defence to “strengthen operational resilience”, it was revealed today.
The announcement follows the exclusive news here that the nearby Glen Mallan jetty will be used by submarines for the first time.
Defence Minister Luke Pollard visited Faslane today, confirming that there would be £26bn investment over ten years to modernise the Royal Navy’s three main naval bases: HMNB Clyde, HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth.
The MoD also said it had “completed the purchase” of the Finnart oil terminal, in “a multi-million-pound acquisition” – although most of the site is already owned by the MoD, as detailed below.
Petroineos announced in 2024 that it would close the oil terminal, with the loss of 20 jobs.
The site includes storage tanks built into the hillside to the east of the A814, as well as jetties on the seaward side.
The MoD today said that the move:
“Expands the Royal Navy’s sovereign fuel-holding capacity and strengthens operational resilience at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
By making use of existing infrastructure, the investment delivers value for taxpayers while creating skilled local jobs and supporting the wider supply chain — and provides the additional space needed to progress the Clyde Transformation Programme, further reinforcing Scotland’s central role in the UK’s defence industrial base.”
Additionally, £20m will also be invested in Inchgreen Marine Park in Greenock: “To revitalise one of the largest operational dry docks in the UK – further strengthening our national and industrial resilience. The investment is supporting creation of 350 direct jobs and will provide a new skills centre.”
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard said:
“The threats facing the United Kingdom are real and they are growing.
This Government is not waiting — we are acting now to ensure our Royal Navy has the bases and infrastructure it needs to be ready to fight.
This £26bn investment is the largest in our naval bases since the Cold War, and Scotland is central to it.
Clyde is critical to our nation’s defence. This investment is securing thousands of jobs up and down the country and strengthening our armed forces for the challenges of today and the future.”
Despite today’s announcement of a purchase, the 200-acre Finnart site is owned by the MoD and land registry documents show that in the 1960s BP Refinery (Grangemouth) Ltd, a predecessor company of Petroineos, signed three lease agreements for 80.3 hectares of land at Finnart with the Crown Estates and the Secretary of State for Defence.
Two of the leases run until 2056 and one until 2049.
Last year it was revealed that Finnart was one a list of potential sites for new explosives factories, but the MoD has not confirmed whether this option is still being explored.
Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said:
“As home to the Royal Navy Submarine Service and the UK’s nuclear deterrent, it’s only right that Faslane – Scotland’s largest military establishment and second-biggest employment site with over 6,500 military and civilian personnel – will be transformed with £15.1bn Defence Investment Plan funding into a modern, more efficient base, future-proofed for war-fighting.”
Dumbarton constituency MSP Jackie Baillie said:
“The UK Labour Government is making record investment to help transform our armed forces to give them the funding and equipment they need to keep our country safe.
In an increasingly dangerous and volatile world, that is good news for people right across the UK, including in Scotland, by ensuring we are better prepared to defend our nation.
But it is also welcome for our armed services based at Faslane, and here in Scotland, as they will benefit from that investment, which will strengthen capability.
Not only by ensuring that they have cutting edge technology for generations to come, this funding will also help support more than half a million jobs across the UK by the end of the decade.”
