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Saudi Aramco (ARMCO) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. have been separately studying potential bids for Australia’s Santos (OTCPK:STOSF) (OTCPK:SSLZY) as both look to increase their overseas natural gas investments, Bloomberg reported late Wednesday.
Santos (OTCPK:STOSF) (OTCPK:SSLZY) has liquefied natural gas projects in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste that are valued for their proximity to growing demand in Asia.
Middle Eastern countries are investing billions of dollars in gas, seen as an important bridge fuel in the energy transition; Aramco recently reached an initial agreement to buy a stake in Sempra’s LNG export plant in Texas, in a deal that would include fuel shipments from the project, and Adnoc has been making a series of acquisitions that have made it one of the most active dealmakers in the industry.
Woodside Energy held preliminary talks about a possible acquisition of Santos (OTCPK:STOSF) (OTCPK:SSLZY) last year in a deal that would have created an LNG giant, but the talks fell apart earlier this year.