Opti Shares Surge as Total Seeks Canada AcquisitioOpti Shares Surge as Total Seeks Canada Acquisitions (Correct)
By Gene Laverty
(Corrects price in fourth paragraph.)
May 7 (Bloomberg) -- Opti Canada Inc., a partner with Nexen Inc. in an oil-sands project, gained as much as 32 percent after Total SA said it will seek acquisitions to replace its failed bid for tar-sands developer UTS Energy Corp.
Opti rose 23 cents, or 8.2 percent, to C$3.02 as of 11:19 a.m. on the Toronto Stock Exchange, extending a two-day gain to 35 percent. Earlier the shares touched C$3.68.
Total, Europe’s third-largest oil company, is looking to Canada and other countries for acquisitions to boost output, Chief Executive Officer Patrick de la Chevardiere told an analyst conference yesterday. The company wants to raise its Canadian output to 250,000 barrels a day by 2020.
New York oil futures have gained 26 percent so far this year after touching a low of $32.40 a barrel in December. The increase is making smaller Canadian oil companies more attractive to investors, said Randy Ollenberger, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets in Calgary.
“We’re seeing a change in investor sentiment toward oil prices that has created some enthusiasm for smaller oil-sands companies,” Ollenberger said in an interview. Some oil-sands projects aren’t seen as viable at prices of less than $50 a barrel, he said.
Crescent Point
Crescent Point Energy Trust earlier today agreed to buy closely held Wild River Resources Ltd. for C$150 million to expand its presence in the Bakken formation that straddles the U.S.-Canadian border. It also agreed to acquire Gibraltar Exploration Ltd. once it completes the Wild River deal.
Compton Petroleum Corp., another Canadian oil and natural- gas producer, issued a statement saying it wasn’t aware of any circumstance that caused its shares to jump as much 39 percent today. Compton gained 10 cents, or 8 percent to C$1.34 after touching C$1.72 earlier. The shares have gained 65 percent in the last two days.
UTS shareholders rejected a bid from Total, which wanted the company’s 20 percent stake in the Fort Hills oil-sands mine in Alberta. Michael Borrell, president of Total’s Canadian unit, said in April the company wants ownership in a project that is operated by another company.
Opti holds a 35 percent stake in the Long Lake project, which is operated by Nexen. Production has been increasing at the plant, which at its peak will be able to steam 66,000 barrels a day of heavy oil from sands in northeastern Alberta. Opti, Nexen and UTS are all based in Calgary.