Jim Ratcliffe, centre, chief executive and founder of Ineos, is bullish about the prospects for fracking in Britain Russell Cheyne/ReutersIneos, the petrochemicals giant run by the billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, has expanded its UK shale gas empire by buying all of Engie’s drilling rights. Ineos already held the most shale licences in the UK and said the deal for the 15 licence interests held by the French company would increase its acreage by more than 10 per cent, to more than 1.2 million acres. The companies did not disclose the value of the deal, which encompasses exploration rights across Cheshire, the East Midlands and Yorkshire. Engie, which bought most of its shale licence interests in 2013, said it had decided to sell its stakes after a strategic review “in response to commodity price declines”. Mr Ratcliffe has been bullish about the prospects for fracking in…

Source: The Times March 09, 2017 12:06 UTC