Canadian Oil Sands Industry: Watch This Space

Two announcements have recently rocked the Canadian oil sands industry. On 29 March 2017, ConocoPhillips Canada Resources Corp. announced it had entered into a C$17.7bn transaction to sell almost all of its Canadian assets to Cenovus Energy Inc. The bulk of the value for the deal is attributable to its 50 percent partnership interest in FCCL Partnership, a joint venture with Cenovus Energy Inc. for the development of the Christina Lake and Foster Creek oil sands projects. Less than three weeks earlier, on 8 March 2017, Shell announced that it was selling down most of its oil sands position in Canada to Canadian Natural Resources Limited as part of a C$12.74bn transaction that also saw Marathon Oil Corporation sell its oil sands position in Canada, including its 20 percent interest in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project, to Canadian Natural Resources Limited and Shell Canada Energy for C$2.5bn.