Mergers are set to sweep through ­Australia’s oil and gas sector with close to $10 billion of assets currently on the market, as international players head towards the exit and local operators seek out new partners in an effort to stave off mounting cost pressures.

The selling spree has provided a fillip for investment banks and comes as new research shows China’s demand for liquefied natural gas will rocket over the next decade as its relentless industrialisation continues to strain existing energy sources.