The firm has made the offer following the UK’s increasing concerns about the mounting costs of energy and its energy security in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
There have been calls to step up local fracking production in order to help phase out imports of Russian oil completely by the end of the year. Currently, reserves are privatised so any oil that is produced is priced according to the global markets and therefore does not contribute to the UK’s energy security.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Ineos founder and chairman, said: “The UK is in the midst of an energy crisis with ever increasing prices driving people into fuel poverty whilst giving huge sums of money to oppressive regimes.
“It’s a ridiculous situation with so much gas under our feet and we are today offering to drill a shale test site to show that a competent operator can be trusted to develop the technology safely.”
The potential value of the UK’s fracking reserves is estimated to...