You remember the CNOOC-Nexen deal, right? China’s State-owned CNOOC was looking for some offshore energy assets, and Canadian oil and gas producer Nexen raised its hand and said “Pick me!” Hilarity then ensued on the political front, both in the U.S. and Canada, and somewhere along the way, I’m sure some of the Chinese people had their feelings hurt. Oh yeah, and Malaysia’s Petronas may have had a deal of their own scuttled by the Canadian authorities as a result of all this. Fun fun fun.

If you need a refresher course on this record-setting acquisition (US $15.1 billion), check out some of these old China Hearsay posts:

Who Lost Canada? America’s Neighbors turn to China for Energy Deal

Someone Predicted the Political Spin on CNOOC-Nexen Deal. Oh Right, That Was Me.

CNOOC-Nexen Politics Continues to Entertain

Your Daily Dose of CNOOC-Nexen Political Hijinks

CNOOC-Nexen Opposition in U.S. Spreads to the Mentally Ill

CNOOC-Nexen Deal in Canada Takes a Turn for the Weird

You can probably tell just from these post titles that I had fun with this foreign investment story. But sadly, as with all things, this story is over:

The Canadian government has approved the sale of oil company Nexen to state-owned Chinese firm CNOOC, but said it would likely block any such future takeovers.

[ . . . ]

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said: “Foreign state control of oil sands development has reached the point at which further such foreign state control would not be of net benefit to Canada.

© Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: CNOOC, Nexen