ConocoPhillips, the third biggest US oil company, said on Monday it had agreed to sell its 9.03 per cent stake in Syncrude, the oil sands project in Canada, to Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production for $4.65bn.
Conoco has been marketing the stake in one of the world’s biggest oil sands mining and synthetic crude processing sites since it unveiled in October plans to sell $10bn in assets over the next two years to pay down debt.
“This is an important step in the $10bn divestiture program which we announced in October, and we are pleased that Sinopec has recognised the value of this quality asset,” said Jim Mulva, Conoco’s chairman and chief executive.