Ineos secures £230m UK loan guarantee for Grangemouth shale gas facility

Ineos has secured a £230m loan guarantee from the UK Government to build a new facility to import shale gas from the US.

The loan guarantee will allow the company to raise funds needed to invest in a new terminal at Grangemouth to import, store and process ethane from shale gas.

TGE Gas Engineering will build the ethane tank, which is claimed to be the largest in Europe.

The company secured approval from Falkirk Council in May to build the tank, which will have the capacity to store 60,000m³ of ethane gas.

Ineos chairman Jim Ratcliffe said: "Without a doubt, this is one of the most important projects of recent times in Scotland with implications to be felt right across the UK, not only for employment but also for manufacturing in general.

"Our ability to import US shale gas underpins the future of manufacturing at Grangemouth and across many businesses in Scotland. It is a vital step towards preserving the long-term future of the Grangemouth site and those businesses that depend upon its continued presence in Scotland."

Ineos has already signed an agreement with Evergas to expand its contract for a series of ethane vessels, which are currently under construction in China.

The deal will see up to six vessels bring ethane shale gas from the US to Ineos European assets.

Ineos has invested more than £300m at its Grangemouth site as part of its plan for the site to manufacture petrochemicals beyond 2017.