ConocoPhillips, EnCana to form pair of oil ventures
U.S. energy giant ConocoPhillips and Encana Corps, Canada’s largest hydrocarbons producer, has agreed to spend 10.7 billion dollars over next decade in a deal to marry the oil from EnCana’s vast oil-sands properties with ConocoPhillips’ U.S. refineries, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
The companies, via a pair of joint ventures, aim to increase the output of crude oil from two of EnCana’s projects in Alberta’s oil sands, a region where the oil is heavy and difficult to refine, and expand the capacity of ConocoPhillips’ U.S. refineries to process the crude, according to the report.
The deal is Houston-based ConocoPhillips’ biggest transaction since its 36.5 billion dollar purchase of natural-gas player Burlington Resources Inc. in December 2005, just as gas prices began an extended decline.
The joint ventures, which the two companies will operate on a 50-50 basis, also address the issue of refining capacity in the U. S., which is unable to produce all the fuel it needs, said the report.
Source: Xinhua