"China Strikes $4.65 Billion Oil Sands Deal"

"BEIJING -- China Petrochemical Corporation will buy ConocoPhillips' stake in the Syncrude Canada oil sands project in Alberta for $4.65 billion.

The deal, confirmed this week by ConocoPhillips, represents state-owned Sinopec's second investment in an oil sands project since it spent $105 million in 2005 for a share in the Northern Lights project, also in Alberta.

Syncrude, the largest oil sands venture in the world, has a production capacity of 350,000 barrels per day. It involves surface mining, extraction and upgrading. At year-end 2009, its estimated reserves were 11.9 billion barrels.

The Conoco deal is the latest peg in China's spree of energy acquisitions to keep up with soaring demand as the world's largest energy consumer after the United States."

UPI had the story April 14, 2010.