CHINA National Petroleum Corp, the country's biggest energy producer, offered to buy a stake in Woodside Petroleum Ltd's Browse liquefied natural gas project in Australia, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

State-controlled CNPC made a binding bid for as much as 15 percent of the venture comprising two natural gas areas off Western Australia's coast, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the sale process is confidential. The stake may be worth up to US$1.5 billion, based on Citigroup Inc estimates.

CNPC is the only Chinese mainland company seeking a stake in Browse, estimated to cost US$36 billion, and faces competition from rivals from Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, the people said.

Source:shanghaidaily