MidOcean Leads Bidding for Stake in Petronas Canada Unit

MidOcean Energy, a liquefied natural gas company founded by private equity firm EIG and backed by Saudi Aramco, has emerged as the frontrunner to buy a minority stake in Petroliam Nasional Bhd.’s Canadian business, people familiar with the matter said.

Petronas, as the Malaysian state energy firm is known, has picked MidOcean as the preferred bidder, according to the people. The companies are in advanced talks to hammer out details of a transaction for the stake, which could be valued at several billion dollars, the people said.

Petronas has been considering options for the Canadian unit, which was formerly known as Progress Energy Resources Corp., Bloomberg News reported in June. A transaction could value the business at $6 billion to $7 billion, people familiar with the matter have said.

Deliberations are ongoing and could still fall apart, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. Other suitors remain interested in the assets, they added. Representatives for EIG and MidOcean declined to comment. Spokespeople for Petronas and Aramco didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.

The Malaysian energy giant acquired Progress for about C$5.2 billion ($3.8 billion) in 2012 to boost its shale-gas assets and gas supplies. It also holds a 25% stake in the LNG Canada project, a joint venture in which Shell Plc, PetroChina Co., Mitsubishi Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. also participate.

MidOcean is led by former Shell executive De La Rey Venter. The firm has acquired stakes in LNG export projects in Australia and Peru and has preliminary deals with Energy Transfer’s Lake Charles facility in the US.