French oil firm Total is investing £1.4billion in the development of US shale gas reserves in Ohio.
Total has agreed a deal with Chesapeake Energy to take a 25% stake in a joint venture covering the Utica Shale area of eastern Ohio.
North America has seen a boom in investment in resources such as shale gas in recent years, giving the US the opportunity to reduce its dependence on imported energy, but the process used to access these reserves, known as fracking, has become controversial because of environmental concerns.