China's largest energy producer, PetroChina Co (NYSE: PTR, SHA: 601857, HKG: 0857) has acquired coal seam gas acreage from Molopo Energy Ltd.for A$43.4 million ($37.14 million), marking the country's another step into the Australian coal seam gas sector.

The Chinese group will now begin talks with LNG Limited, which is behind the proposed Fisherman's Landing liquefied gas plant at the port of Gladstone, over a tolling agreement for gas from the Molopo acreage processed to be in the plant, the Australian reported.

Fisherman's Landing is expected to produce up to 3 million tonnes a year of LNG, making it the smallest of the five LNG plants under construction or planned for development around Gladstone. LNG managing director Maurice Brand said the PetroChina deal would add "some serious momentum" to the company's efforts to develop Fisherman's Landing.

A subsidiary of PetroChina's state-owned parent company, CNPC, purchased a 19.9 per cent stake in LNG last year.

Although the deal is tiny compared to recent moves by Chinese companies on international energy assets, it shows the world's second-biggest economy is prepared to hedge its bets by investing in riskier ventures that can offer it more hands-on experience developing unconventional resources for export, according to the Fox Business.

China moved July 23 toward its biggest overseas energy acquisition as offshore oil and gas giant CNOOC Ltd. announced an agreement to buy Canadian producer Nexen Inc. for $15.1 billion.

CNOOC and other big state-owned Chinese energy companies clearly have prepared to gain more access to resources needed to fuel "rising dragon".

Total acquisitions by Chinese energy firms jumped from less than $2 billion between 2002 and 2003 to nearly $48 billion in 2009 and 2010, according to the International Energy Agency. More times than not, the companies are paying above the industry average to get those deals done.