PetroChina eyes US$1.67 in Australian assets

PetroChina (PTR.NYSE, 0857.HKG) is seeking to acquire US$3.7 billion in Australian oil assets, part of the state-owned firm’s plans to invest US$60 billion in global resource assets by the end of the decade, Bloomberg reported, citing an emailed statement from the company’s spokesman. The buy-up will help fuel China’s rapidly growing need for energy. “This is all about a longer-term game,” said Adrian Wood, a Sydney-based analyst at Macquarie Group. “When we run our numbers, China looks pretty-well supplied with gas until 2020.” PetroChina agreed to a US$1.63 billion purchase of a BHP Billiton reserve in Western Australia in December.