THE owner of a petrochemical plant has acquired full fracking rights for a 127 square mile site that stretches to Bishopbriggs and East Dunbartonshire.

 

Ineos, the Swiss multinational operator of the Grangemouth plant, bought out IGas' interest as part of a deal worth £30m.

The deal was agreed despite the Scottish and UK governments both imposing a moratorium on the drilling technique used to extracting oil or natural gas from deep underground.

If the restrictions were lifted, Ineos would have full fracking opportunities in an area covering from Falkirk to Shotts and across to Bishopbriggs, Lennoxtown and Kirkintilloch.

Gary Haywood, chief executive of Ineos Upstream, said the latest acquisition was a "further significant step" by the petrochemicals giant towards fracking, which is said to have transformed the US energy industry.

He said: "This is a great opportunity to acquire some first-class assets that have the potential to yield significant quantities of gas in the future.

"We believe shale gas could revolutionise UK manufacturing and Ineos has the resources to make it happen, the skills to extract the gas safely and the vision to realise that communities must share in the rewards for it to be successful."

Environmental campaigners reacted angrily to the news. They fear fracking could cause earthquakes and risks poisoning drinking water.

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie warned the company's billionaire owner, Jim Ratcliffe, that he would continue to face opposition to his £360m project to bring shale gas ethane from the US to Ineos' petrochemical plants in Scotland and Norway.

Mr Harvie said: "I've very little doubt that the pressure that built up for a moratorium will see a permanent and full-scale ban on unconventional gas extraction, although Mr Ratcliffe is welcome to waste his money if he wants to."

Under the terms of the deal, Ineos could also revive plans for gas extraction operations based around a series of wells testing for coalbed methane at Airth - a scheme which was opposed by local authorities in Falkirk and Stirling.

The acquisition of 100 per cent of the shale gas exploration licence by Ineos came after the company bought a 51 per cent stake last year for the area.

Other shale gas exploration licences in Scotland are held by IGas for a 183 square mile site in Dumfries and Galloway and a 249 sq mile area of North Lanarkshire, which Ineos part-owns.

The UK and Scottish governments have also said no further licences will be issued until a series of investigations are carried out to assess the effects of the practice.