New UK prime minister Liz Truss has lifted a ban on fracking
UK shale drillers hope for rebirth
The new administration’s lifting of a fracking moratorium is cause for renewed optimism
UK chemicals firm Ineos has repeated its offer to drill a test shale gas well after the country’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, removed a fracking ban. Independent producer Igas also welcomed the move as the UK shale industry seeks revitalisation. Ineos chairman Jim Ratcliffe first made the test well offer in a national newspaper op-ed in April. “Shale has helped transform the energy landscape and the local communities in the US, [which] is well protected against the energy crisis as it is making the most of its natural resources. It can do the same here in the UK,” says Ineos director Tom Crotty. “We have promised to invest the first 6pc of the value of the gas back into the local communit
Also in this section
17 February 2026
The 25th WPC Energy Congress, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 26–30 April 2026, will bring together leaders from the political, industrial, financial and technology sectors under the unifying theme “Pathways to an Energy Future for All”
17 February 2026
Siemens Energy has been active in the Kingdom for nearly a century, evolving over that time from a project-based foreign supplier to a locally operating multi-national company with its own domestic supply chain and workforce
17 February 2026
Eni’s chief operating officer for global natural resources, Guido Brusco, takes stock of the company’s key achievements over the past year, and what differentiates its strategy from those of its peers in the LNG sector and beyond
16 February 2026
As the third wave of global LNG arrives, Wood Mackenzie’s director for Europe gas and LNG, Tom Marzec-Manser, discusses with Petroleum Economist the outlook for Europe’s gas market in 2026
