Grangemouth refinery owner to hold strike talks with union 14 October 2013 Last updated at 00:44 The operator of the Grangemouth refinery and petrochemical site is to begin talks with union bosses in a bid to avert a planned 48-hour strike. Members of the Unite union are planning to walk out on Sunday in a row over the treatment of a union convener. Ineos, operator of the Lothian site, said negotiations would start later at arbitration service Acas, in Glasgow. Ineos has warned that the threatened strike "could effectively shut much of Scotland" by disrupting fuel supply. The strike could potentially disrupt the flow of Brent crude from the North Sea. Contingency plans The Scottish and UK governments have been drawing up contingency plans and had called for more talks between the two sides. Announcing the talks on Sunday night, Ineos Grangemouth chairman Calum MacLean said: "We have always been prepared to go to Acas if this helps to resolve a strike that Grangemouth petrochemical plant and refinery cannot afford. We hope to be able to resolve the dispute and address the financial issues that threaten the survival of the entire site. Previously, the company labelled the union action as "completely irresponsible" while the union accused Ineos of "gunboat irresponsible diplomacy." Ineos said it would do all it could to "minimise the harm" of a strike at the site in Lothian. The North Sea's Forties pipeline system could be affected because the Kinneil oil processing terminal - where oil from the Forties field comes ashore - relies on Grangemouth for its steam and power. Official suspended The dispute centres on union convener Stephen Deans, who was involved in the row over the selection of a Labour candidate in Falkirk. Labour cleared Unite after an investigation of trying to rig the selection of a party candidate - claims that led to a major row between the union and Ed Miliband. Mr Deans, who is chairman of both Labour's local constituency party and Unite in Scotland, was suspended by Ineos then reinstated. Ineos said an investigation by "a third party" into Mr Deans' conduct was due to be completed by 25 October. It recently launched a survival plan for Grangemouth, warning that the site would close by 2017 without investment and reduced costs. The company said the plant was losing £10m a month. The Grangemouth refinery processes 210,000 barrels of oil per day and provides most of Scotland's fuel. It is owned jointly by Ineos and PetroChina.