Korea Gas Corp negotiating for LNG

KOREA Gas Corp aims to acquire stakes in Australian and Indonesian liquefied natural gas projects to secure stable supplies, the state-run utility said in a report to parliament on Tuesday.

The world’s largest LNG buyer said it was in talks to acquire a 15% stake in a coal seam gas project led by Australia’s Santos (GLNG) and a 9.8 percent stake in Indonesia’s Senoro Toili project run by Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp.

The company did not provide a financial value for either of the potential deals, but sources with knowledge of the Australian deal said in August that Kogas would invest more than $1 billion in Santos’s Gladstone project.

“Negotiations are underway to purchase a 15% stake in the Gladstone LNG project,” a company spokesman said.

In August, a Kogas official said the company was seeking a 10% stake in the project.

Environment minister Tony Burke is expected to make his decision on the Santos and UK-based BG Group coal seam gas-to LNG projects, both slated for Curtis Island, by October 22.

Santos currently owns 45% of Gladstone, Petronas has 35% and Total holds 20%..

Separately, Kogas said it expects the nation’s gas demand between October and March to increase by 11% from a year earlier as economic recovery boosts consumption. The state-run utility projects demand of 20.4 million metric tons for the period, according to a report.