CNPC Shows Interest in Browse Project Stake

China National Petroleum Corp. has offered to buy a stake in Woodside Petroleum Ltd.’s Browse gas project in Western Australia.

The company has made a binding bid for as much as 15 percent of the project which may be worth up to $1.5 billion, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

CNPC is the only Chinese company seeking a stake in the Browse development, and it faces competition from bidders from Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, the report said.

Woodside on Wednesday increased the estimate for its natural gas resources in the Browse Basin by 17 percent to 15.5 trillion cubic feet (439 billion cubic meters). Woodside owns 46 percent of the project.