PetroChina gets control of Canada’s MacKay River oil sands project

PetroChina, China's largest oil company by market value, has announced a major deal giving it access to Canadian oil sand reserves by buying out the 40-per cent it does not already own in the MacKay River oil sands project from Canada's Athabasca Oil Sands Corp.

PetroChina owned a 60-per cent stake in the Mackay River oil sands project, said it had bought the remaining 40 per cent share for $673 million.

This deal marks the first oil sand project to be fully owned by a Chinese company in the region

Canadian regulators previously approved PetroChina to buy 60 per cent of the project for C$1.9 billion in November 2011, according to Xinhuanet.

The MacKay River project is located in northern Alberta of Canada, a region that contains 85 per cent of the world's oil sand.

The first phase of the project will begin in 2014, with a daily output of 35,000 barrels of oil. Its maximum daily production is expected to be 150,000 barrels, according to Xinhuanet.