**Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina have launched a joint $2.96bn (£1.95bn) takeover bid for Australian liquefied natural gas (LNS) group Arrow Energy.**The news led to shares in Arrow jumping 47% on the Australian stock market.
Arrow said in a statement that it “recommends shareholders take no action in relation to their Arrow shares” at this stage.
Analysts said Shell and PetroChina want to buy Arrow to increase their LNS supplies to China.
Arrow claims to have the largest reserves of natural gas in Australia’s northern eastern state of Queensland.
LNS is gas that has been converted into liquid form through cooling, which makes it easier and cheaper to transport by sea.