INEOS Completes Deal with IGas, Becomes Third Shale Gas Player in UK

The gas industry has not given up on shale gas, with a mix of initiatives and commercial operations indicating that the shale enthusiasts are probably a minority, but a solid group quite prepared to push its agenda forward. 

On Thursday, while British people were casting their votes in the tightest general elections in the last two decades, IGas completed the farm-out and purchase agreement with INEOS. 

‘INEOS will assume operatorship of PEDLs 133, 145 and 193 and EXL 273 in phases, following an orderly handover. All of the necessary consents and approvals have now been received from DECC’ reads a note released by IGas.  

As a result of the deal that includes the acquisition of a 50% interest in seven IGas shale gas licences in the Bowland licences, the multinational chemicals company headquartered in Switzerland is now the third largest shale gas company in the United Kingdom.

“These are first class assets that have the potential to yield significant quantities of gas in the future. INEOS believes that an indigenous shale gas industry will transform UK manufacturing, and that we can extract the gas safely and responsibly” Gary Haywood, CEO of INEOS Upstream, commented in a separate press release. 

The parties signed the deal in March 2015. 

Meanwhile, Shale Gas Europe, an initiative supported by Chevron, ExxonMobil, Halliburton, and Royal Dutch Shell, focused its attention on Germany, claiming that the country has to promote unconventional production. 

‘Germany holds some of the largest estimated shale gas reserves in Europe – 3 trillion cubic metre. This could provide 20% of Germany’s annual gas demand for up to 100 years’ Shale Gas Europe wrote in a post on its platform.

Today, the German parliament held its first reading on a draft law to regulate exploration for shale gas.