Hong Kong & China Gas Co. (0003.HK) Wednesday said it recently bought a 60% stake in an onshore oil exploration and production project in Thailand for US$170 million--its first acquisition outside of Greater China.

The blue-chip company, known as Towngas, said the project has already gone through a major exploration stage, and is now producing oil at around 3,000 barrels a day.

It said the oil blocks are 250 kilometers north of Bangkok, and that the operator of the concession to drill oil has a 20-year production period from July 2012.

Towngas is Hong Kong's dominant piped-gas distributor. It has been seeking to expand beyond its home base for several years, having made a number acquisitions in mainland China.