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Royal Dutch Shell Plc and PetroChina Co.’s A$3.3 billion ($3 billion) bid for Arrow Energy Ltd. may spur more takeovers of Australian producers of coal-bed gas, a growing source of supply for Asian energy importers.

Eastern Star Gas Ltd., a coal-seam gas developer in the Australian state of New South Wales, climbed almost 13 percent to 81 cents in Sydney yesterday after Arrow reported the bid. Bow Energy Ltd. rose 28 percent. Santos Ltd., Australia’s third- largest oil and gas producer, is another potential target, said David Wall, an analyst at Hartleys Ltd. in Perth.

Crude oil rose to an eight-week high as investors purchased oil and fuel futures amid returns that have outpaced other securities.

“The financial flow may soon send prices to $85, even if that’s not justified by physical demand,” said Kyle Cooper, a managing director at energy consultant IAF Advisors in Houston. “You’re seeing a lot of money move into the market.”

Oil has advanced 80 percent over the past year, greater than the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 59 percent increase. Futures traded in a $1.66 range today, drifting between gains and losses, as equities...

BARWA over the planned sale of the BARWA Financial District to the world’s largest liquefied natural gas producer. BARWA denies that it is currently involved in talks to sell its BARWA City project to a government buyer. Because construction is still underway, there has not yet been a finalised lease pricing structure for BARWA City properties.

Oil & Natural Gas Corp., India’s biggest energy explorer, may borrow $10 billion over the next decade as it competes with rivals from China and South Korea to buy oil assets overseas to meet domestic fuel demand.

“We still have surplus funds in our treasury and I’m not happy to be a zero-debt company,” Chairman R.S. Sharma said in a March 5 interview at his office in New Delhi. “We would like to borrow and leverage that for expanding our business.”

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and PetroChina Co.’s A$3.3 billion ($3 billion) bid for Arrow Energy Ltd. may spur more takeovers of Australian producers of coal-bed gas, a growing source of supply for Asian energy importers.

Eastern Star Gas Ltd., a coal-seam gas developer in the Australian state of New South Wales, climbed almost 13 percent to 81 cents in Sydney yesterday after Arrow reported the bid.

Kuwait Energy Company, one of the fastest growing independent oil and gas exploration...