By:Zawya

Australia's Santos said on Friday it had granted exclusive due diligence for a period of six weeks to an international consortium led by Abu Dhabi's National Oil Company (ADNOC), which had offered $18.7 billion for the gas producer.

ADNOC's investment arm XRG, along with Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company (ADQ) and private equity firm Carlyle, had offered $5.76 (A$8.89) per Santos share when the proposal was announced in mid-June.

At the time, the XRG consortium said it was negotiating to carry out due diligence with Santos on an exclusive basis before formalising the offer which would need at least 75% support from Santos investors.

The consortium has also agreed to a confidentiality agreement with Santos, the Australian energy firm said.

XRG now stands on the cusp of a deal that would give it stakes in major operations across Australia and Papua New Guinea— pending regulatory approval.