Ineos and National Trust in shale gas stand-off

Energy firm Ineos is threatening to take legal action against the National Trust so it can carry out a fracking survey on its land.

The company said it had been trying for almost a year to get permission for a seismic survey at Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire.

Ineos said it has repeatedly tried to arrange a meeting, adding the trust refuses to speak to the company.

“If the National Trust refuses to change its position, Ineos will have no choice but to write to the Oil and Gas Authority, asking for permission to seek a court order enforcing its rights to carry out these surveys on National Trust land,”Ineos said in a statement.

Corporate affairs director Tom Crotty said the process would be “totally non-evasive”, with virtually all the work done overground.

The East Midlands is a key area for potential shale gas extraction and Ineos already has permission from landowners around the park to carry out works.

The ability of Ineos to extract shale gas would be “significantly limited” if the firm cannot do the tests it wants to do.

It is not the first time the petrochemicals giant has been frustrated in its attempts to access onshore shale gas deposits in the UK.

The company has licence options covering much of the Forth Valley running out from its major industrial base at Grangemouth.

However, it has been unable to pursue its ambitions as a result of a moratorium on unconventional gas extraction brought forward by the Scottish Government.

The firm is instead importing feedstocks for its cracker units at Grangemouth via a fleet of Dragon-class container ships from shale plays in the US.

The multi billion dollar operation also provides feedstock for the group’s site in Norway.