China oil deal has Canada squirming

Market Watch ^ | July 23,2012 | Jim Jelter

[Hojczyk]

Canada and China have been courting each other on energy issues for years. Their relationship just took an awkward turn, however, with Cnooc Ltd’s $15.1 billion bid for Nexen Inc.

It’s awkward because it Canada prefers to view China as a vast market for its surplus oil while China clearly wants to be more than just a buyer of oil. It also wants to own the oil fields.

This raises issues of control over a strategic resource that Canada would rather avoid. But Cnooc CEO -4.34% is offering a generous 61% all-cash premium for Calgary-based Nexen NXY +51.82% CA:NXY +52.40% , and money talks. Read about the offer.

There are striking parallels between Cnooc’s bid for Nexen and its failed $17 billion bid for California-based Unocal back in 2005, the last time it attempted an outright acquisition on this scale.

Cnooc’s move on Unocal caused an uproar in Washington, where lawmakers blocked the deal on the grounds precious U.S. energy assets must not be allowed to fall into the clutches of a giant, state-owned oil company that reports to a bunch of communists. Never mind that most of Unocal’s resources were in Asian oil and gas fields. Unocal, they argued, was an American company, and if anyone was going to buy it, it should be an American company. Which is exactly what happened. Before the end of the year Chevron CVX -1.14% owned Unocal.

It would be hard to make the case that Nexen significantly bolsters Canada’s stature in the global energy industry. If it did, it would have to be kept in Canadian hands.

[Hojczyk]

China has been buying minerals and oil all over the world..the U.S. will be out in the cold...we can only hope China gets over extended like Japan in the 1980”s

[Colonel Kangaroo]

On the oil front, our President Nero fiddles while Rome burns.

[af_vet_rr]

China has been buying minerals and oil all over the world..the U.S. will be out in the cold...we can only hope China gets over extended like Japan in the 1980”s

Here in Texas, our Governor went over to China a few years ago and lobbied the Chinese government, and the Chinese liked what they heard, came in and are putting a few billion into South Texas oilfields, and creating 10s of thousands of jobs in Texas in the process.

While it bothered me to see Perry cozying up to the Chinese, on the other hand those resources in Texas were available because other companies weren't buying into them.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

See this is what happens when a giant, uni-racial country practices nationalism.

Wake up people.

And start fighting back. We’re currently doing nothing.

While China just gets stronger. And stronger...

[mrsmith]

If Obama hadn’t of blocked Ketstone China would have had to pay even more for it.

They’re getting their money’s worth out of their US president!

And speaking of ‘money’s worth’ if the US Treasury hadn’t sent that 15 billion to China as interest, our government would have blown it on some Democrat donor’s fantasy, or welfare.
At least that money is doing something useful in the world instead now.

[tumblindice]

No worries. The federal Department of Energy has been working diligently since the Carter administration to fulfill its mission statement, “To reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”
That’s only been, what—going on 40 years?
Give them another 40 years and we’ll all be driving flying cars powered by flux capacitors.