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We would consider that alongside the assessments that we have to make around whether it passes subsidy control and the commercial market operator test and whether we think that that would help it to be productive to win future work on its own merits.

I said that, if Ferguson Marine comes forward with a plan that we think passes those tests and allows us to invest, we would look to find that money to ensure that we can invest in the yard.

I will be brief, convener.

Mr Doris is correct that the opportunity for more income, as ScotWind becomes operational, is substantial not just in terms of direct income to the Scottish Government but, as I referred to in my introduction, in terms of the huge economic multiplier that comes from supply chain development.

To support ScotWind becoming operational as quickly as possible, we are prioritising it in the budget and through the First Minister’s commitment to investing £500 million over the next five years in development of the supply chain. That helps to build confidence for developers to go through with developing their sites, thereby maximising the opportunity that Mr Doris has pointed to. We hope that we can do that, both from an energy deployment perspective and an economic perspective, through ScotWind.

SNIB is in a period of transition from its establishment only a short period ago to becoming, we hope, self-sustaining. During that period, there are points that we need to establish, including on the advisory board.

We have a strong relationship. I met SNIB’s chair and chief executive last week or the week before. We discussed the strategic priority that is ScotWind and we looked at how we could maximise that opportunity. We already have a strong working relationship but, as the bank develops and grows, we need to ensure that the oversight continues to grow alongside that. That is where the advisory board comes in, and we are working on establishing that.

There are a number of elements to that. We have been doing a lot of work through the Grangemouth future industry board to look at opportunities for the Grangemouth site to ensure that there is continued industrial activity. We recognise that one aspect—the refinery—is approaching 100 years old and is not competitive on the international stage with other refineries around the world, as was set out by your previous panel. We have been engaging with the board on that work.

We also know that those affected are highly skilled workers. We do not know the final quantum of potential job losses, because we are still working with assumptions around what may be lost and what may be retained through an import terminal. However, we know that they are highly skilled workers and that they will be much in demand across the energy sector. Through the just transition plan, I am keen to ensure that there is as much opportunity as possible to retain them in Scotland.

The other element that Mr Smyth spoke about is how the joint venture can retain those workers for as long as the refinery is operational. The First Minister and I both posed that question to Mr Hardie and his colleagues when we met a couple of weeks ago. I believe that significant investment is being made to retain staff, recognising that this is an uncertain time for them. We have impressed on the company the importance of ensuring that it looks after and retains the workforce. It is in its interests to do so, to ensure that it has a viable workforce to continue the processes that are in place at the refinery.

I did not hear that part of the discussion, but I am happy to take that away and speak to the joint venture about its assumptions then come back to the committee with more detail.

That is absolutely my understanding. That was one of the first questions that I had, because I wanted to be confident about that. As I understand it, even with an import terminal, hydrocarbons will continue to be produced and there will continue to be elements of flaring, whereby substantial carbon can be captured from the refinery or the move to an import terminal. The wider Grangemouth site has significant carbon emissions that can be captured. I know from discussions with the joint venture, but also from discussions that I had with the cluster a couple of weeks ago in Aberdeen that Grangemouth is absolutely central to their plans.

I would have to go back to look at minutes of previous discussions.

We have been aware for a long time that the future of the refinery was at risk—as I said, there have been previous interventions. That is why we have been engaging heavily with it to ensure that there is a just transition and investment in the import terminal that ensures energy security for Scotland and other parts of the UK. Again, the joint venture is making an important investment so that, when a decision is eventually taken on the refinery, we have continued industrial capacity and energy security at the Grangemouth site and for the fuels that are needed for Scotland’s transport sector.

My understanding is that that is because of the high sulphur content of North Sea oil.

I absolutely appreciate your point. I agree that the situation going forward, to a lesser or greater degree, involves us offshoring our carbon footprint rather than taking responsibility for it. However, that is the situation that we face right now, because only about 30 per cent of North Sea oil is refined at Grangemouth for the industrial reasons that have been well set out.