PARIS, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- French energy giant GDF Suez signed an agreement with its Australian partners at Santos to develop three offshore gas fields in Australia, the company said.
GDF Suez announced a $200 million deal with Santos that concludes plans launched in August to develop its Bonaparte liquefied natural gas project.
The integrated project envisions the construction of a floating liquefaction plant with a capacity to produce more than 2 million tons of LNG per year.
The project relies on gas resources from the Petrel, Tern and Frigate gas fields in the Bonaparte gas basin in the Timor Sea, which GDF Suez described as one of the richest gas regions in Australia.
GDF said the three fields "represent a significant potential for growth" in its Asia-Pacific portfolio.
GDF Suez takes a 60-percent stake in the project, which is expected to last three years.
Drilling campaigns in the Bonaparte basin start at the end of 2010 to confirm the resource potential of the region.
