Santos has refuted all the expectations regarding its multibillion dollar deal with Royal Dutch Shell in order to consolidate their coal-seam gas projects in Queensland.

The Adelaide-based coal-seam gas had earlier informed the market about its discussions with a number of parties in relation to the sales of its $8billion Gladstone Liquefied natural Gas project. The discussions were also said to include the equity in the project and collaboration between projects.

“'These discussions are incomplete and there is no certainty that definitive agreements will be executed, we will update the market as appropriate”, Santos said in a statement.

These speculations led to the hike in Santos shares by almost 10%. However, both the companies have said that any tie-up is not possible in near future.

A source close to both the companies said that the final investment decision by Santos would be out by the end of the year and the project by RD shell would be two years behind.

Sources have also revealed that Santos is considering many options, therefore, it has been spending time in Western Australia.

China’s Sinopec and Korea Gas had also said that they are seeking to buy gas from this project and along with that an equity stake between 10 and 19%. All the parties like BG and Origin-Conocophillips and the Shell-PetroChina Joint Venture are working on the possibilities of collaborations.