Husky and Cnooc Clash as China Gas Policy Ripples Globally
- Canadian oil company fights partner as lower prices loom
- Husky shares plunge on reduced outlook for Liwan gas project
Cranes stand on a drilling platform construction site at the yard of Offshore Oil Engineering Co., a unit of CNOOC Ltd., in the Zhuhai Gaolan Port Economic Zone in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China, on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014. The state-owned Chinese company is looking into exploring Norway’s eastern Barents Sea, an area where licenses will be awarded in 2016.
Photographer: Brent Lewin/BloombergThe Chinese government’s efforts to shift consumption from coal to less polluting natural gas are being felt on the other side of the world by Canadian energy producer Husky Energy Inc.
Husky, controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing, has been pummeled on the stock market after saying it plans to defend the contract for its biggest project amid attempts from China to lower natural gas prices for consumers. Shares of the Calgary-based company fell 9.2 percent to C$15.93 in Toronto on Tuesday, the biggest daily drop in almost six months. The stock dropped another 6 cents at 11:58 a.m. on Wednesday, to C$15.87.