Santos said XRG, an investment arm of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, had made an indicative cash offer of $5.76 a share, valuing the Adelaide-based company at $18.7bn. It represents a 28 per cent premium to Santos’s closing share price last week.

Santos, an Australian oil and gas producer, has announced the receipt of a non-binding indicative proposal from a consortium led by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) to acquire all the ordinary shares of Santos through an arrangement process.

Australia's second-largest gas producer Santos said on Monday it intended to support an all-cash $18.7 billion takeover bid from an international consortium led by Abu Dhabi's National Oil Company (ADNOC),