Apr 3, 2017

Ineos buys North Sea oil pipeline from BP

Ineos, the petrochemicals company controlled by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, has raised its bet on the future of the ageing North Sea oilfields by buying the strategically important Forties pipeline system for up to $250m from BP. The privately owned group has reached an agreement with BP to buy the 235-mile pipeline, which transports nearly 40 per cent of the UK North Sea's oil and gas production by connecting 85 fields to the British mainland. The Forties pipeline was opened in 1975 to transport oil from BP's vast oilfield of the same name, which was one of the first big offshore discoveries in the North Sea. Everyone knows oil and gas in the North Sea is declining; it is all about achieving maximum recovery. "Everyone knows oil and gas in the North Sea is declining; it is all about achieving maximum recovery," Mr McNally said. Ineos has been gradually raising its exposure to the North Sea basin - in 2015, it bought several gasfields from Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's LetterOne Group.

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