Shell and PetroChina welcomed the successful completion of their joint acquisition of Australian coal seam gas company, Arrow Energy Limited.
The acquisition follows an offer in March 2010 to purchase 100% of the shares of Arrow by CS CSG (Australia) Pty Ltd, a 50/50 joint venture company owned by Shell Energy Holdings Australia Limited and a subsidiary of PetroChina Company Limited. CS CSG (Australia) Pty Ltd agreed to pay A$4.70 cash per share for all of the shares in Arrow, representing a total consideration of approximately A$3.5 billion.
“This acquisition is underpinned by rising global demand for gas as a clean source of energy,” said Malcolm Brinded, Royal Dutch Shell’s Executive Director of Upstream International. “Shell’s LNG expertise and PetroChina’s access to the Chinese energy market, together with the coal seam gas resources and expertise built up by Arrow’s staff, will further consolidate Australia’s position as a global leader in energy and resources supply.”
“As a leading natural gas producer, PetroChina welcomes this opportunity to work with Shell to expand our international LNG and natural gas production and supply activities through the acquisition of Arrow Energy,” said Mr Qiliang Bo, Vice President of PetroChina Company Limited. “This successful acquisition will continue our established history of working together with Shell on the fruitful development of joint projects.”
Arrow will remain based in Brisbane, Australia, with a board of directors composed of experienced Shell and PetroChina executives. The new chief executive officer of Arrow is Andrew Faulkner. Mr Faulkner has worked for Shell for 28 years and has extensive LNG experience, ranging from LNG production to marketing activities, gained in a variety of technical and commercial positions across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
