KOGAS drops plans to sell stake in Australia LNG project

SEOUL, Feb 27 (Reuters) - State-run Korea Gas Corp

036460.KS said on Thursday that it has decided not to sell its stake in Australia's $18.5 billion Gladstone LNG (GLNG) project.

KOGAS, the world's largest corporate buyer of liquefied natural gas, said last year that it was considering selling at least part of its 15 percent holding in the GLNG project as South Korea initiated a review of its overseas investments in oil and gas due to poor profitability.

"We have decided to exclude the (GLNG) project from sales aimed at cutting our debt," KOGAS said in a regulatory filing.

The GLNG project is jointly owned by Australia's Santos

STO.AX and Malaysia's Petronas and Total .

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Matt Driskill)

((hyunjoo.jin@thomsonreuters.com)(82-2-3704-5685)(Reuters Messaging: hyunjoo.jin.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: KOGAS GLNG/