Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Gold/Mining/Energy : Oil Sands and Related Stocks -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: dalroi who wrote (581)	4/12/2005 11:05:07 AM
From: Taikun	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25575

Stefaan, Clever Chinese-they chose a private oil sands company, and there aren't many. D

To: dalroi who wrote (581)	4/12/2005 5:17:32 PM
From: Taikun	Respond to of 25575

There might be a back door into the joint venture with MEG: DVN "With current oil prices high and expected to remain high for some time, the return on investment (on oil sands exploration and production) will likely be quite reasonable," Shum said." Yahoo! Singapore - Finance Home - Yahoo! - Help Singapore - International - Brokers - Editorial - AFP - Asia Pulse - Dow Jones - Reuters - WSJ.com - Countries - Industries International Tuesday April 12, 5:59 PM CNOOC Gets A Hold On Canada's Huge Oil Sands Resources SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Top Chinese offshore oil producer CNOOC Ltd. (CEO) said Tuesday that it has acquired a 16.69% stake in privately-owned Canada-based MEG Energy Corp. for C$150 million. The purchase, albeit small, is expected to help pave the way for further investment by the Chinese oil major in Canada's huge oil sands resources. I AM : I'M SEEKING : "Chinese companies have been looking at oil sands for quite sometime now. But PetroChina (PTR) and Sinopec (SNP) were the more active parties and CNOOC buying the stake is quite a surprise," said Victor Shum from oil consultancy Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. In January, during Prime Minister Paul Martin's visit to Beijing, Canada and China signed framework agreements to develop oil sands deposits in Alberta. The pacts were expected to lead to a final agreement on Chinese investment in Canada's resources. Alberta's huge oil sands deposits make up the vast bulk of Canada's total proven crude oil reserves of 178.9 billion barrels, the second-largest in the world after Saudi Arabia. But the high production cost means the sands need a high market price environment to make any investment worthwhile. "With current oil prices high and expected to remain high for some time, the return on investment (on oil sands exploration and production) will likely be quite reasonable," Shum said. MEG Energy is a relatively new entrant in the global oil sands exploration and production business. Late last year, MEG Energy and Devon Canada formed Access Pipeline, a joint venture that is looking to build a 400,000 barrels-a-day oil-sands pipeline covering 180 miles from Christina Lake in northeastern Alberta to the Edmonton refinery region. Total investment is estimated at C$300 million. Devon expects to bring 35,000 b/d of oil-sands output on stream in 2007 and MEG plans to start a 5,000 b/d pilot project in 2006. According to a statement issued Tuesday, Calgary-based MEG Energy owns 100% working interest in oil sand leases which covers 32,900 acres in Alberta. The area is estimated to hold 4 billion barrels of bitumen with total recoverable reserves of about 2 bullion barrels. Talk of possible investment in Canada's oil sands by Chinese companies has rang some alarm bells in Canada, and in the U.S. But those concerns aren't shared by everyone. "It might ring some alarm bells in some political circles in the U.S. But most of Canada's oil exports will still go the U.S. It's logical due to the proximity of the market. U.S. will not lose a large chunk of its supplies," said Shum. The latest acquisition is also a minor victory for China's state oil companies, which have run into various snags in their quest for oil assets around the globe. It certainly wasn't a case of once bitten, twice shy for CNOOC, which last week lost out to ChevronTexaco Corp. (CVX) for the purchase of Unocal Corp. (UCL), bought for US$16.4 billion. "The Chinese (firms) will get increasingly like global companies" as they scour the world for more oil resources, Shum said. Copyright © 2005Dow Jones & Company Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Community - Help sg.biz.yahoo.com