A petrochemicals giant has announced it is taking SNP ministers to court in the hope of overturning their “unlawful” fracking ban in Scotland.

Ineos, the operators of the huge Grangemouth petrochemical plant, which is responsible for four per cent of Scotland’s GDP, said it has lodged a petition for judicial review at the Court of Session.

The firm and business partner Reach argued that Scotland's highest civil court should find there was a "failure to adhere to proper statutory process and a misuse of ministerial power".

Tom Pickering, its operations director, said the company had “no option” but to initiate legal action after £50 million it had spent on acquiring two fracking licenses and planning permissions had been “rendered worthless” without the payment of any compensation.

The SNP administration now faces a protracted legal fight and a potential outlay of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money.

The ban was announced in October following a two-year moratorium during which Scottish minsters commissioned a series of reports about the controversial shale gas extraction technique.

Although energy policy is reserved to Westminster, their control over the planning system means they can block any application to frack.

Paul Wheelhouse, the SNP Energy Minister, sought to justify the ban by arguing the move had overwhelming public support, fracking would add only 0.1 per cent to Scotland’s GDP and it would be concentrated around densely populated areas in central Scotland.