PetroChina has agreed to purchase a 60 percent stake in two oil sands projects in Western Canada for 1.7 billion US dollars, the seller announced Monday.
The MacKay River and Dover oil sands projects owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corporation are located in the northeastern part of Alberta province, and have been independently assessed to hold about five billion barrels of bitumen.
"Oil sands projects are very capital-intensive long-term investments and difficult to fully finance in the traditional equity market," said Athabasca Oil chairman Bill Gallacher in a statement.
Athabasca Oil "therefore decided to look for joint venture partners," and a joint venture with PetroChina, "one of the world's largest energy companies, can ensure that the MacKay River and Dover projects will be developed in timely manner," he said.
Source: AFP Asian Edition
