PetroChina (0857.HK, 601857.SH, PTR.NYSE) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA.LSE, RDS.A.NYSE) will buy Australian coal-seam gas producer Arrow Energy (AOE.ASX) after raising their offer to US$3.2 billion, Bloomberg reported. The two firms will pay A$4.70 (US$0.69) a share for Arrow’s Australian business, a 5.6% hike on the A$4.45 offer made March 8, although some analysts were disappointed the price was not higher. Arrow investors will also receive stock in Dart Energy, a new holding company for the firm’s international assets, which are not part of the PetroChina-Shell sale. Coal-seam gas assets – mostly methane found on the surface of coal – are popular among companies looking to feed liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects. The gas is extracted when pressure on the seams is reduced. Shell will use the reserves in its Curtis Island project, one of more than a dozen planned LNG ventures in Australia aimed at tapping rising Asian demand.
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