Houston-based ConocoPhillips on Monday confirmed the sale of its stake in Syncrude Canada to Chinese refining giant Sinopec for $4.65 billion US.
After speculation regarding a deal, the American integrated oil major said the transaction is anticipated to close in the third quarter of 2010 once Canadian and Chinese government approvals are obtained.
"This is an important step in the $10 billion divestiture program which we announced last October, and we are pleased that SIPC has recognized the value of this quality asset," Jim Mulva, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a news release. "The completion of this transaction demonstrates the strength of the asset base available to meet our asset sales goals.”
Shares of Canadian oilsands producers moved higher on Monday in anticipation of an announcement after reports from Hong Kong that Chinese refining giant Sinopec is about buy a stake in Syncrude Canada, which is the world's largest oilsands producer.
That in turn sent the share price of Canadian Oil Sands Trust -- which owns 36 per cent of Syncrude -- sharply higher on the Toronto Stock Echange. After gaining more than a dollar at the opening bell, the units were trading at $31.45, up 75 cents or almost three per cent in morning trading.
Imperial Oil, which operates the joint venture, initially gained 59 cents before falling back to $41.61, down 11 cents.
It would be the largest Chinese investment in the oilsands to date for Sinopec, which is in a joint venture with Total on the Northern Lights project formerly owned by Synenco.
Last year PetroChina floated a $1.9 billion stake in Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. which went public with an initial public offering last week.
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Sinopec buys Conoco's share of Syncrude
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