MULTINATIONAL chemicals firm Ineos is once again expanding its business dealings after securing a majority stake in two exploration licenses for North Sea oil and gas.

The licenses relate to an area north of Shetland, which is believed to have great potential for gas reserves.

It comes just weeks after the company bought over Swiss football club Lausanne-Sport and branched out into fashion with the acquisition of Belstaff, a clothing brand that specialises in motorcycle wear.

Earlier this year Ineos agreed to buy the Forties pipeline system in the North Sea from BP for £200m, a deal that was completed earlier this month.

The 235-mile pipeline system links 85 North Sea oil and gas assets to the UK mainland as well as to the Ineos site in Grangemouth. This system delivers almost 40 per cent of the UK's North Sea oil and gas production

Ineos already has stakes in gas fields in the southern North Sea, acquired when it took over the portfolio built up by DONG Energy of Denmark earlier this year. Now it has agreed a deal with Aberdeen-based Siccar Point Energy to take on two-thirds of the exploration licences.

“It is a big shift [for Ineos], we entered the North Sea just over two years ago, then had a step-up last year,” Tom Crotty, director at Ineos, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"We thought it would now be time to step into exploration."

"There is always a risk until you get into the detail ... but we believe we are proficient operators. We are looking to do this at costs that reduce our risks."