PetroChina acquires full stake in Canadian oil sands project

04 January 2012 03:27  [Source: ICIS news]

GUANGZHOU (ICIS)--Athabasca Oil Sands Corp (AOSC) will sell its remaining 40% interest in the MacKay River oil sands project to a wholly-owned PetroChina unit for C$680 ($673m), the Canadian crude producer said late on Tuesday.

In 2010, AOSC sold 60% stakes in MacKay and a separate project, Dover, to PetroChina for C$1.9bn.

The MacKay River oil sands project received full regulatory approval on 23 December last year.

AOSC will use the proceeds from the sale to implement its strategy on increasing light oil drilling and completion programs, the company said.

 “Our strategy is to ultimately achieve approximately 50% of our production from the company’s oil sands division and the balance from the light oil division” said AOSC’s chairman Bill Gallacher.

“We will use the proceeds from the option exercise to implement this strategy,” he added.

Canada’s vast reserves of oil sands are viable sources of crude as well as chemicals.

With additional reporting by Nurluqman Suratman

($1 = C$ 1.01)

By: Fanny Zhang
+65 6780 4359

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