Origin Energy May Seek a Hike in BG Group’s Bid

Origin Energy, the oil and gas exploration and production company, has doubled its targeted new gas resources in Queensland for 2008 and has hinted that the BG Group has to hike its acquisition bid from the current $12.2 billion to make it impressive.

BusinessDay has quoted Grant King, managing director of Origin Energy, as saying: “It’s time to think about the resource position and how one would value the resource position. If you look at Origin from a resource basis the multiples are not that challenging.”

Mr King has said that if gas prices in Asia continued to increase, the company’s coal seam gas reserves value may increase four times from the current position.

BG has made its bid at a premium of 40% on Origin’s shares.