ConocoPhillips, EnCana to form pair of oil ventures

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

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