Sat, April 28, 2012
British natural gas producer BG Group is planning to sell part of its equity stakes in the Curtis Island liquefied natural gas (LNG) project to China Investment Corp. (CIC).
BG Group has a 93.75 percent stake in the Queensland, Australia-based project, and is said to be offering 15-20 percent of its stake as it plans to sell of some assets to fund other projects, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter.
The deal is expected to fetch some $2 billion dollars, and has attracted bidders including CNOOC Ltd. (0883.HK), Qatar Petroleum and several Japanese energy firms.
The sources said first-round bidding will take place in early June.
The $15 billion Curtis Island LNG project sits on an area of 270 hectares on the eastern coast of Australia. It has an annual production capacity of 8.5 million tonnes, with possible expansion to 12 million tonnes per annum.
A successful bid by CIC or another Chinese company would increase the country’s interests in overseas energy assets.
Chinese energy majors have been busy hunting overseas investments opportunities this year, with a peculiar focus on resource-rich Australia, North and South America.
