According to reports in the Australian, Royal Dutch/Shell is interested in acquiring a stake in the Santos Ltd
(ASX:STO) operated Gladstone Liquefied Natural Gas project.
It is believed that Korea Gas and Sinopec are also involved in the bidding process.
Reports claim both companies are competing for a stake of 9 to 20% in the project, which is believed to be worth $1 billion.
The Australian says while Santos will not comment on the speculation, Deutsche Bank has told the paper that Santos and Shell are in talks.
The Australian reports that while there is no certainty that a deal will be reached, a deal if any could be a precursor to a larger industry consolidation.
Santos reported a profit of $434 million for the year ending 30 December 2009.
