Chinese oil firm in biggest takeover of Canada Nexen Inc., $ 15.1 billion acquisition, Oil sands shale gas western Canada, Ottawa last deal of its kind

“Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.”…Barack Obama 

“Canada has outperformed the U.S. since then. In 2010, according to the International Monetary Fund, Canada grew at 3.2% versus 2.9% in the U.S. In 2011, the IMF estimates Canada will grow at 2.9%; unemployment is now 7.3%. The IMF’s U.S. growth forecast is 2.5% this year, and U.S. unemployment is 9.1%.

One explanation for Canada’s more robust growth is its strong commitment to energy, which has become more valuable in U.S. dollar terms under Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s inflationary policies. Alberta is now producing two million barrels per day but expects that number will grow to four to five million within a decade.”…Wall Street Journal Sept. 12, 2011

“For the first time in recent history, the average Canadian is richer than the average American, according to a report cited in Toronto’s Globe and Mail.

And not just by a little. Currently, the average Canadian household is more than $40,000 richer than the average American household. The net worth of the average Canadian household in 2011 was $363,202, compared to around $320,000 for Americans.”…US News  July 18, 2012

From People’s Daily Online February 27, 2013.

“Chinese oil firm in biggest takeover”

“CHINA’S dominant offshore oil producer has completed a US$15.1 billion acquisition of Canada’s Nexen Inc, winning a key international platform for its global expansion.

The closing of China’s largest overseas takeover comes seven months after it was first announced.

CNOOC Ltd’s acquisition of Nexen, which has oil sands and shale gas in western Canada and conventional exploration and development in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, will increase the Chinese firm’s production by 20 percent and its proven oil and gas reserves by 30 percent.

Yang Hua, CNOOC’s vice chairman, said Nexen was attractive because it had a diversified product portfolio and the majority of its assets were in politically stable regions.

CNOOC, which failed in its US$18.5 billion bid for Unocal Corp in 2005 due to the United States’ political opposition, started to track Nexen as a potential target the same year, Yang told Xinhua news agency.

In 2011, CNOOC acquired struggling Canadian oil sands producer OPTI, becoming a partner with Nexen in the Long Lake project in Alberta. The OPTI deal paved the way for the Nexen acquisition, Yang said.

Moody’s Investors Service said the ratings and stable outlooks of CNOOC and its parent will remain unchanged after the closing of the Nexen deal.

Senior analyst Simon Wong said the acquisition would “strengthen CNOOC Ltd’s position as one of world’s largest independent exploration and production companies and further diversify its product portfolio, in spite of its weakened credit metrics.”

Canada granted its approval in December after CNOOC agreed to various conditions. CNOOC made commitments regarding transparency, disclosure, commercial orientation, employment and capital investment that “demonstrate a long-term commitment to the development of the Canadian economy,” Canadian authorities said.

But Ottawa indicated this was the last deal of its kind it would approve by saying it wouldn’t allow foreign state companies to control the nation’s oil sands.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US approved the deal earlier this month, clearing the last major hurdle for the acquisition to succeed.”

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90778/8144674.html