Swiss chemicals giant Ineos has bought its first British North Sea gas fields, after Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman was forced to sell them as the West tightened sanctions against Russia.
Whilst Britain has told Fridman he is still welcome to invest in the country, the energy secretary before the election Ed Davey told Fridman’s firm LetterOne that they must sell the fields within six months. The assets, which include the Breagh and Clipper South fields, provide up to 8 percent of Britain’s requirements and could not be at risk of being affected by sanctions against Russia. The UK threatened Fridman with a license revocation if a sale was not finalised by the 20th October.
In a statement made today, Ineos Chairman Jim Ratcliffe said they were pleased with the acquisition:
“They are high quality, low risk assets and they come with a highly experienced management team. Whilst no decisions have yet been made, we will continue to evaluate other opportunities in the North Sea.
“INEOS has been very open about its intention to make strategic investments in the North Sea and this acquisition is our first step in fulfilling this goal. It will also help our UK petrochemical assets to have ongoing access to competitive energy.”
Last year Ineos announced plans to invest $1 billion in British shale gas exploration using fracking technology, and have invested heavily in shipping and processing fracked gas from America.
