Reuters: Australian's Bet on China Gas Begins to Pay Off
An Australian entrepreneur's bet on natural gas acreage in a Chinese desert cast off by Chevron Corp is set to reap far bigger returns than expected, a director of the firm behind the project said.
In what appears a rare bright spot for gas investments, as global energy prices slump, the project is benefiting from Beijing's policies to boost output of the cleaner-burning fuel.
Chevron gave up a 50 percent stake in 3,000 square km in China's Ordos Basin to Australian Bernard Ridgeway in 2005, in return for spending $7 million to drill and assess the resource.
"It was in a very undeveloped state at that time, so it was a fairly big punt," said Gavin Harper, a non-executive director recruited by Ridgeway for the firm he founded, Sino Gas & Energy. MORE