Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 23 March 2021
I know that Annabelle Ewing has been closely involved in the matter for some time, and I value her constructive engagement on it. As I have indicated, work on nine of the 20 recommendations from the peer review is already under way, and SEPA has accepted a further eight of those recommendations. Recommendations that have already been taken forward include those relating specifically to air quality monitoring and community engagement. SEPA is finalising a project plan to take forward implementation of the other recommendations, including work on communications, monitoring of volatile organic compounds and modelling.
SEPA has been clear that the flaring was unacceptable and that such flaring must become the exception, rather than the routine. The Scottish Government will continue to impress upon the operators the need to minimise disruptive flaring during the forthcoming shutdown and restart process. The forthcoming £140 million investment in the site should improve reliability. Unplanned elevated flaring, with its associated impact on the local community, should become a less frequent occurrence and, when flaring is required, its impact should be reduced. That is the basis on which we are having conversations with ExxonMobil.