(Reuters) - Australia's competition watchdog said on Friday that it will not oppose oil and gas firm Santos Ltd's <STO.AX> $2.15 billion acquisition of privately held Quadrant Energy.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)said in a statement that the acquisition would be unlikely to reduce competition in the supply of gas to Western Australia.
"The ACCC considers that a combined Santos/Quadrant will continue to face strong competition from a range of suppliers, including large LNG producers such as Chevron and Woodside," said ACCC Chair Rod Sims.
Santos said in a separate statement that the ACCC's approval cleared a condition for the acquisition, which is now expected to close "within weeks".
Santos had announced the buy in late-August, just a few weeks after Quadrant and its joint venture partner Carnarvon Petroleum <CVN.AX> discovered an oil field that was touted as the biggest discovery off Western Australia for more than 20 years.
Separately, investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd <MQG.AX>, which holds a 21.8 percent interest in Quadrant, raised its fiscal 2019 earnings outlook to 15 percent of growth from 10 percent, citing the ACCC approval.
(Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)
