Share

Ineos buys gas field from Russian billionaire

London - Swiss chemicals company Ineos has bought all the UK North Sea gas fields owned by the DEA Group, which is in turn owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's investment fund LetterOne, the companies said on Sunday.

In April, Britain's Energy Ministry gave Fridman six months to dispose of oil and gas fields LetterOne bought from German utility RWE, or see their licences revoked as the West tightened sanctions against Moscow over its role in the Ukraine.

"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," Ineos chairperson Jim Ratcliffe said in a statement.

Ineos announced plans last year to make a $1bn investment in British shale gas exploration with an ambition to become the country's biggest shale gas player.

A LetterOne spokesperson confirmed the sale.

"DEA will now use the proceeds from the sale to invest in its core growth areas in Europe and North Africa," he said.

Neither company gave financial details of the sale.

The sale process attracted interest from several buyers, including private equity funds which have built up resources over the past year for acquisitions in the sector, banking sources have said.

The intial offers submitted in July fell far short of LetterOne's target price of up to $1.2bn, with the highest offers coming in at around $750m, several sources close to the process have said.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.90
-0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.43
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.1%
Platinum
907.85
+1.2%
Palladium
1,012.25
+1.1%
Gold
2,219.28
+1.1%
Silver
24.85
+0.8%
Brent-ruolie
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.8%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.8%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders