Nexen Inc. (NXY, NXY.T), the Canadian oil-sands operator that
Chinese state energy giant Cnooc Ltd. (CEO, 0883.HK) has agreed to
buy, said the two extended the deadline for the closing of that
$15.1 billion proposed deal by 30 days, as they await U.S.
government approval.
Canada's government approved the deal in December, but the
Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., an interagency body
that weighs key foreign investment, has yet to approve it.
Washington has a say because Nexen also owns significant assets in
the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Authorities in the U.K., the European
Union and China have already approved the deal, Nexen said in a
statement late Sunday.
When the Cnooc-Nexen deal was first announced last year, the two
agreed on a deadline of Jan. 31 to get the deal done. In its
statements, Nexen said it and Cnooc had agreed to extend that until
March 2. Nexen also said it would delay the release of its 2012
fourth quarter earnings and its annual financial report.
In late November, Cnooc and Nexen resubmitted its proposed deal
for approval to CFIUS, a move the companies described at the time
as done in "mutual agreement" with the agency.
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