Toky: Tokyo Gas Co. said Saturday that it will acquire U.S. natural gas developer Rockcliff Energy II LLC for 2.7 billion dollars, the group’s biggest investment.

Tokyo Gas plans to buy Rockcliff Energy, which develops and produces natural gas in Texas and Louisiana, as early as Dec. 29 via a group company.

The Japanese group engages in natural gas development in the two U.S. states. The acquisition is expected to make the group’s operations there more efficient and help lower its gas production costs.

Gas produced there is expected to be sold in the United States.

“We’ll invest in oversea business that drives profit growth in line with our medium-term business plan,” Takashi Nakao, a senior official for oversea business promotion at Tokyo Gas, told a press conference.

JIJI Press