[LINK] "China's bold move into the oil sands"

[rfmcdonald]

Diversification of investors is good, I think.

A major Chinese energy company has delivered a jolt of confidence to Canada's oil patch with a $1.9-billion investment that marks China's biggest entry into Alberta's oil sands.

In a deal that many took as proof of the oil sands' continued attractiveness to deep-pocketed investors, Calgary-based Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. on Monday sold a 60-per-cent interest in two of its undeveloped projects near Fort McMurray to the international unit of PetroChina Co. Ltd. (PTR-N109.71-0.04-0.04%) .

The transaction will hand approximately three billion barrels of Alberta oil to PetroChina, whose parent is the state-owned China National Petroleum Corp., but will leave operation of those projects, named MacKay River and Dover, in Canadian hands.

Chinese companies have engaged in a months-long buying spree of global petroleum assets, snapping up a refinery and oil and gas properties in Asia, Russia, South America and Africa. But for those in the oil patch, the acquisition of Alberta assets serves as a much-needed vote of confidence.

Canada's energy industry has spent more than a year watching oil prices fall and, in their wake, tens of billions in capital spending cancelled or delayed. Many see the Athabasca deal as a sign that stability – and even growth – is returning.