ADNOC weighs possible bid for Australian gas company Santos, sources say
LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is in the preliminary stages of exploring a possible bid for Australian gas supplier Santos, two people with knowledge of the plans said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Santos, which supplies natural gas and LNG, had been in merger talks with Woodside Energy to create a $52 billion global LNG company but the negotiations collapsed in February this year. Santos said at the time it would continue to review options to unlock value for its shareholders.
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Santos shares rose 6.5% on Thursday after Bloomberg first reported that ADNOC and Saudi Arabia's Aramco have been separately studying potential bids for Santos, citing sources who declined to be named as the information was private.
Aramco said: “With reference to recent media reports claiming that Aramco is considering an offer for Santos, the company can confirm that such claims are inaccurate," a spokesperson for Aramco said in an emailed statement.
ADNOC declined to comment.
A Santos spokesperson said the company does not comment on media speculation.
With global LNG demand expected to grow 50% by 2030, ADNOC - and Saudi peer Aramco - are tapping opportunities around the world and have signed a few deals with U.S. players.
ADNOC has big ambitions in gas and LNG, which along with renewable energy and petrochemicals, it sees as pillars for its future growth. It plans to grow its 6 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) LNG capacity to 15 mtpa by 2028.
Analysts have been sceptical about the potential for another bidder to emerge for Santos.
“The landscape would not be easy for new buyers due to widespread opposition to fossil fuel developments and to history of labour challenges,” said Kaushal Ramesh, Rystad Energy's vice president for LNG.
(Reporting by Marwa Rashad. Additional reporting Yousef Saba, Maha El Dahan, Hadeel Al Sayegh and Scott Murdoch. Writing by Anousha Sakoui. Editing by Jane Merriman)