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Mitsubishi Corp. has decided to sell a 44 percent stake in its natural gas exploration rights in Indonesia to Inpex Corp., formerly known as Indonesia Petroleum Ltd., for about 26 billion yen (about US$214 million), sources close to the matter said, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported in its Thursday evening edition.

The two companies have already set up a joint venture, in which the trading giant owns a 56 percent interest and Inpex the remainder, to promote natural gas development in the Southeast Asian nation, the Nikkei said.

The sale will be completed by the end of November with the transfer of the purchased rights to the joint firm.

The venture will process natural gas into liquefied natural gas for export to Japan, China and South Korea, the sources said.

Mitsubishi's natural gas field has confirmed reserves of 14.4 trillion cubic feet, the second largest in the world after Russia's Sakhalin field, which boasts 15 trillion cubic feet in confirmed reserves.

Mitsubishi acquired a concession equal to 16.3 percent of the entire field from Occidental Petroleum Corp. of the U.S. for about 60 billion yen in July.

Among the other concession holders is British Petroleum. Total investment in the gas field by all concession holders is expected to reach some 300 billion yen, the Nikkei reported.

Inpex was anxious to secure new natural gas development rights, as its existing oil and natural gas concessions in Indonesia are due to expire in 2017.