Rejected by Obama Canada Doing Business With China

Stephen Harper

Wall Street Journal - CALGARY—Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. said it was selling a 40% stake in one of its oil-sands prospects to PetroChina Co., a move that for the first time will give full ownership of such a project to a Chinese company. Athabasca is selling its remaining interest in the MacKay River project in northern Alberta to PetroChina for 680 million Canadian dollars, or US$666 million. In 2010, Athabasca sold 60% stakes in MacKay and a separate development, Dover, to PetroChina for C$1.9 billion. Chinese oil companies PetroChina, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. known as Sinopec, and Cnooc Ltd. have all invested heavily in Canada's oil patch. Chinese firms have typically sought to buy into minority stakes in projects or companies. But last year, interest in buying whole companies ratcheted up.

China's Hu Jintao

Oil-sands output has grown quickly, and Alberta and Canadian officials have sought out new markets. That has particularly been the case after the U.S. State Department late last year delayed a decision on a pipeline proposed to carry oil from Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said it would actively market its oil to Asian buyers, including China. The Canadian government has said it backs the construction of another pipeline running from Alberta to the Pacific, where oil could be loaded onto tankers bound for Asia. Read full story here (subscription required) Read full story here: News New Mexico

Rejected by Obama Canada Doing Business With China