Ex-Shell boss: Grangemouth closure 'not surprising'

Union leaders are meeting Ineos management later and have said they will offer concessions to try to save the petrochemical plant at Grangemouth in Scotland.

The company said on Wednesday it would have to close the plant after workers there rejected a deal which would have changed their pay and pensions.

John Hofmeister, a former president of Shell Oil and the author of Why We Hate the Oil Companies, told the Today programme's Sarah Montague the news of Grangemouth's closure did not come as a surprised.

"By using Brent crude oil, the price of that crude coming into the plant for either chemicals or refining purposes - it is the most expensive crude that's out there, so Grangemouth faces a disadvantage in terms of crude oil relative to other refineries because of the higher price," he explained.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Thursday 24 October 2013.