The Swiss chemicals company INEOS has purchased 12 gas fields in the North Sea, Reuters reported.

The fields were purchased from Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman’s investment fund LetterOne. The Russian businessman was forced to relinquish the fields within 6 months of obtaining them over disputes the British government faces with Russian actions in Ukraine.

Fridman had acquired the fields from German energy firm RWE.

The sale of the fields was for $750m, well short of the stated price of $1.2b announced by LetterOne, noted The Guardian

The sale puts INEOS in control of a significant portion of the British gas industry; roughly 8-10%.

“INEOS has been very open about its intention to make strategic investments in the North Sea and this acquisition is our first step in fulfilling this goal. It will also help our UK petrochemical assets to have ongoing access to competitive energy,” INEOS Chairman Jim Ratcliffe said in a statement.

Despite the downturn in North Sea assets, INEOS has previously announced its intentions to spend heavily in the industry, pledging to invest $1b this year.