State Oil Companies Stay in Oil Sands as Conoco, Shell Exit
- Cnooc becomes fourth-biggest foreign producer in oil sands
- Position grows after rules passed to hinder state-owned firms
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Four years ago, Canada’s government tried to keep state-owned companies out of Alberta’s oil sands. Now, they may be around for a while.
ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc decided this month to sell most of their oil sands to Cenovus Energy Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. That leaves firms such as China’s Cnooc Ltd. among the last foreigners holding major stakes in the bitumen-soaked soil of northern Alberta.