PetroChina to Invest $3.7 Billion in Australian LNG Projects

Australia has seven LNG developments under construction worth a total $190 billion, which, when completed by the end of the decade, will make Australia the largest supplier of LNG in the world.

PetroChina, the largest oil and natural gas producer in the country, is looking to secure hydrocarbon reserves for the future when Chinese demand is set to grow vastly, and investing in Australian LNG projects offers a great way to achieve this.

PetroChina is looking to make around $3.7 billion worth of acquisitions in Australia this year, just a part of the planned $60 billion they intend to invest throughout the decade. Last year overseas oil and gas acquisitions reached an all-time high after the Chinese government pledged to boost funding in order to secure long-term supplies.

Related article: LNG Technology: The Holy Grail of Gas Investments

Mao Zefeng, a spokesman for PetroChina, said that “as one of the key markets in our Asia and Pacific operations, PetroChina is willing to expand our presence in Australia when a good opportunity arises.”

Last month PetroChina agreed to buy 20% of the Poseidon natural gas discovery off the north western coast of Australia, and a 29% stake in the Goldwyer Shale Project.

Many of the acquisitions that PetroChina has made are still undeveloped, but that is of no concern to them. As Adrian Wood, a Sydney-based analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd., explained, “this is all about a longer-term game. When we run our numbers, China looks pretty-well supplied with gas until 2020. It’s the resources that are important to them, not the production right now.”

By. Joao Peixe of Oilprice.com