mineral exploration project – commodity prices – mining stock- trade and market

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.

BP has been making some interesting points about the outlook for the natural gas market, most recently in a very thoughtful...