PetroChina to Invest $3.7B in Australian LNG This Year

Chinese oil and natural gas company PetroChina plans to make acquisitions in Australian natural gas projects worth about $3.7 billion this year, and to invest $60 billion over a decade, Bloomberg reports.
 
"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," said PetroChina spokesman Mao Zefeng.

Australia has seven liquefied natural gas (LNG) developments under construction worth $190 million total, which are projected to make it the largest supplier of the fuel by the end of the decade, and PetroChina is working to build up its energy reserves to help fuel Chinese economic growth.

Adrian Wood, a Sydney-based analyst for Macquarie Group Ltd., said the Chinese company is intentionally focusing its investment on undeveloped resources.

"This is all about a longer-term game," Wood said.

"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."

Last month, PetroChina announced that it would acquire a 20 percent interest in the Poseidon offshore discovery in Australia's Browse Basin as part of a deal with ConocoPhillips.