Statoil ASA said Tuesday it received final approval of its 2.2 billion Canadian dollar (US$2.1 billion; euro1.5 billion) acquisition of North American Oil Sands Corp. from the Canadian Ministry of Industry.
Norway's state-controlled oil company now owns 98 percent of NAOSC, Statoil said in a statement. Statoil Canada Ltd. has taken up all such shares and will pay for such shares on or before Thursday, the company said.
Statoil Canada has also exercised an option to buy the remaining NAOSC securities that were not deposited to the offer.
Through the acquisition, Statoil gains access to 275,200 acres (1,110 square kilometers) of oil sands leases located in the Athabasca region of Alberta, northeast of Edmonton, one of the largest heavy oil provinces in the world. First production is planned for early 2010.
Statoil, the key player on offshore oil fields that make Norway a major world supplier of crude, also has experience producing heavy oil from sand in projects in Venezuela.
http://www.statoil.com
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