Chevron bets big on Canadian oil sands

SAN RAMON, Calif., March 2 (UPI) -- Chevron Corp. said Thursday it had bought five heavy oil leases in the Athabasca region of Canada's northern Alberta province.

The leased land covers more than 180,000 acres and contains an estimated 7.5 billion barrels of oil in place.

Chevron is already active in the Canadian oil sands, with a 20 percent joint venture participation in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project -- which includes the Muskeg River Mine and the Scotford Upgrader. The project, which came on-stream in 2003, produces about 155,000 barrels per day.