Blackstone Energy Partners, part of the world’s biggest manager of alternatives to stocks and bonds, will invest as much as US$800 million in an Asian energy company led by former industry executives, Bloomberg reported July 31.

Tamarind Energy will seek to help partners boost production and yield of oil and gas fields in Malaysia and Indonesia, Angelo Acconcia, a New York-based managing director of Blackstone Energy Partners, said July 31 in an interview. The Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-based company is led by former executives from Talisman Energy Inc. (NYSE: TLM, TO: TLM.TO)

“Our focus is on the appraisal development of assets where they have already been discovered, and where we can be a value-added partner to companies that we work with,” Acconcia said.

Tamarind Energy is the first oil and gas investment in Asia by the Blackstone Group LP’s $2.5 billion energy fund. Global oil demand will rise at the fastest pace in five years in 2015 as China leads gains in emerging economies, the International Energy Agency said this month.

Blackstone is providing close to 100% of the funding for Tamarind, and owns control of the venture, he said.

Ian Angell, CEO of Tamarind, and Lawrence Bernstein, executive vice president, were former executives at Talisman, a Canadian energy producer.

Blackstone Capital Partners VI, Blackstone’s $16.7 billion diversified global private-equity fund, also committed $2.5 billion on energy investments. Combined, Blackstone has allocated $5 billion to energy, Acconcia said.

In total, the Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) has invested in more than 25 energy transactions with $7 billion of equity, he said.

Blackstone Energy fund is building a power plant in the Philippines and has made an oilfield service investment in the region, Acconcia said. The group has also made a “handful” of power plants investments in India, he said.