Fortescue Metals Group Limited
(ASX:FMG) has stepped into the oil and gas sector through buying an 18 per cent stake in Oil Basins Limited
(ASX:OBL).
The Pilbara focussed iron ore miner will become a strategic cornerstone investor in the oil and gas explorer focussed offshore Gippsland Basin waters, the onshore Canning Basin and the offshore Carnarvon Basin of Western Australia.
Under the proposed deal Fortescue will purchase 120 million Oil Basins shares at 3.5 cents at a cost of $4.2 million and be issued up to 146 million options.
Both companies have executed a confidentiality agreement and are understood to be working on a new project and development opportunities within
Australia.
Shares in Oil Basins jumped 32 per cent yesterday to close at 4.1 cents, while shares in Fortescue Metals Group slipped 1 per cent to finish at $3.96.
Fortescue Metals Group booked a net profit of $1.5 billion in the 2012 financial year.
