The Middle Eastern oil giant vying to take over Australian fossil fuel producer Santos has walked away from the proposed $30 billion deal, which would have been the biggest cash takeover in the country’s history.

XRG, the foreign investment arm of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and its bidding partners on Wednesday night said they had withdrawn their blockbuster offer to acquire Santos , the second-largest Australian oil and gas company, ending months of negotiations.

Abu Dhabi’s national oil company has abandoned a $30 billion takeover bid for Australia’s Santos. Credit: Monique Westermann

In a surprise statement just two days before the deadline for a binding deal, the bidding consortium said it had encountered issues that had altered its original assessment of Sant

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