Canada is the largest source of U.S. oil imports.
According to the U.S. Energy Administration, in 2011 U.S. total crude oil imports averaged 9,033 thousand barrels per day (tbpd), with the top exporting country being Canada (2,666 tbpd), distantly followed by Mexico with 50 percent less, at 1,319 tbpd.
But things are in turmoil in the Canadian energy field, not least because last week the Obama administration rejected Republican attempts to fast-track the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have sent Alberta oil sands to U.S. refineries on the Gulf of Mexico.
But where others see fiscal turmoil, many Chinese venture capitalists see opportunity. Following their bold venture into Africa a decade ago, which is now paying off handsomely, many energy analysts in Ottawa are nervously contemplating Chinese venture capitalists taking advantage of the markets’ turmoil to snap up Canadian energy assets at fire-sale prices.
Analysts are now speculating that three Calgary energy firms - Encana Corp., Talisman Energy Inc. and Nexen Inc. - are most likely to be in investors’ sights as ripe for takeover, due to a perfect storm of operational setbacks, inept management decisions and plummeting natural gas prices, all of which have depressed their stocks despite oil prices soaring above $100 a barrel.
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