Canadian Natural Resources Minister Dismisses Chinese Oil Investment Concerns

Reuters reported that Joe Oliver, Canada’s natural resources minister, responded to concerns about China’s increased interest in investing in Canadian oil and gas by asserting that the country is seeing investment interest from many countries aside from China, including the United States, France, the Netherlands, Japan and Malaysia.

As quoted in the market news:

Cash-rich Chinese companies are showing an increased interest in Canadian oil and gas and Ottawa is currently reviewing a $15.1 billion takeover bid for Canadian oil company Nexen Inc by Chinese state-owned firm CNOOC Ltd .

The CNOOC bid is causing political tensions, since some members of the governing Conservative Party are uneasy about the idea of a state-owned Chinese company buying assets in Canada.

Oliver — who says Canada’s energy patch needs at least C$650 billion ($665 billion) in investment over the next decade — dismissed the suggestion that China was the sole nation with access to such sums.

Click here to read the full Reuters report.