PetroChina and Shell welcome Federal Court approval of Arrow acquisition

CS CSG (Australia) Pty Ltd, the 50/50 joint venture company owned by Shell Energy Holdings Australia Limited and a subsidiary of PetroChina Company Limited, has 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. 

Arrow shareholders voted overwhelmingly in support of the proposal at a meeting in Brisbane on 14 July 2010.

Upon final implementation of the scheme, the joint venture will own Arrow’s Queensland coal seam gas (CSG) assets and domestic power business, as well as Shell’s Queensland CSG assets and its interests in the LNG project on Curtis Island at Gladstone.

Following successful completion of the acquisition Shell and PetroChina intend to invest the funds required to further develop Queensland’s CSG to LNG industry and progress towards a world scale LNG plant on Curtis Island subject to a final investment decision. 

“Today’s court decision paves the way for Arrow to grow and create more jobs and economic wealth for Queensland and for Australia,” said Russell Caplan, Shell’s Australian Chairman.  “Shell and PetroChina bring the LNG expertise and deep access to markets and capital needed for a large-scale, long-life integrated CSG-to-LNG project.  This joint venture will become an important growth asset for Shell and help meet growing demand for cleaner energy in Australia and international markets.”

“PetroChina welcomes this opportunity to invest in Australia, and we are pleased with the Federal Court’s decision to approve the acquisition,” said Mr Bo Qiliang, vice president of PetroChina Company Limited. “LNG is an important source of clean energy for China, and PetroChina sees this joint venture as a significant commitment to progressing towards an integrated CSG and LNG business in Queensland.”

As all necessary conditions have now been satisfied the scheme will be implemented on 23 August 2010.

Contacts:
Shell Australia:                                  Phil Connole +61 417 063 605
PetroChina:                                       Xinxiang Yuan +86 10 5998 6037
CS CSG (Australia) Pty Ltd:               Ilse Schache, FD Third Person +61 416 041 768

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