AJ Lucas Group Ltd. (AJL.AU) said Thursday it has sold its 15% interest in a coal seam gas permit in Queensland state to Japan's Toyota Tshusho Corp. (8015.TO) for A$98.5 million.

The permit, ATP651, is located in the Surat Basin and operated by BG Group PLC (BG.LN).

The deal is the latest of many in Queensland's coal seam gas sector, which has been the subject of an over A$20 billion investment boom driven by multinational energy companies looking for energy sources to market to fast-growing Asian nations.

Toyota Tsusho has already struck a deal in the sector, in September agreeing to buy liquefied natural gas from the proposed Fisherman's Landing project in Gladstone, which is being built by Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd. (LNG.AU) and supplied coal seam gas by Arrow Energy Ltd. (AOE.AU).

BG Group, which is building a rival project at Gladstone, has signed a non-binding offtake deal with China National Offshore Oil Corp.

Spokespeople for BG and AJ Lucas weren't immediately available for comment.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to occur in early 2010, AJ Lucas said.

With a primary focus on engineering, AJ Lucas sold its interest in some coal seam gas acreage in New South Wales state a year ago to AGL Energy Ltd. (AGK.AU) for A$259 million.

Five separate ventures are attempting to build LNG plants at Gladstone, all fed by coal seam gas.

-By Ross Kelly, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8272-4690; ross.kelly@dowjones.com
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