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PetroChina, Shell to acquire Arrow for A$3.5b

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-22 13:27

PetroChina Company Limited (PetroChina), China's largest oil and gas producer, announced on Monday that it has agreed a joint bid with Shell to acquire Arrow Energy Limited after raising the offer to A$3.5 billion ($3.15 billion).

CS CSG (Australia) Pty Ltd, the 50-50 joint venture owned by PetroChina International Investment Company Ltd, a subsidiary of PetroChina, and Shell Energy Holdings Australia Ltd, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, agreed with Arrow to acquire 100 percent of its shares, according to the statement posted on PetroChina's website.

CS CSG will pay A$4.70 per share in cash for all of the equities in the leading Australian coal-seam gas producer, according to the statement.

The joint venture announced a cash-per-share offer of A$4.45 on March 8.

Under the deal, CS CSG would own Arrow's Coal Seam Gas (CSG) assets in Queensland and domestic power business.

The joint venture would also be also entitled to own Shell's Queensland CSG assets and its site for a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on Curtis Island at Gladstone.

Ge Aiji, PetroChina's project manager, said the proposal would create jobs and generate additional economic activity for Queensland through an export of 7 million to 8 million tons of LNG per year from the deal.

Ge said PetroChina sees the joint venture as a significant commitment to building an integrated CSG and LNG business.

Malcolm Brinded, Royal Dutch Shell's executive director of Upstream International, said the final investment decision on the large LNG project is expected to be made by 2012.

Arrow is expected to hold a shareholder meeting in mid July 2010 to allow shareholders to vote on the offer, the statement said.