Japan takes stake in Canada's natural gas

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CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- A Japanese energy consortium took control of a 40 percent stake in shale natural gas assets in Canada from Nexen Inc., the company said.

Canadian oil and natural gas company Nexen Inc. said that, with the deal in hand, it controls a 60 percent stake in shale natural gas basins in northern British Columbia. The remaining 40 percent will be controlled by a consortium led by Inpex Corp. of Japan.

A well pad in the Horn River, Cordova and Liard basins in British Columbia is expected to enter service this year. That should increase production capacity from about 50 million cubic feet per day to 175 million cfd, said Nexen.

The cash consideration for the sale is around $700 million, the company said.

"We have also agreed to jointly investigate the feasibility of liquefied natural gas export opportunities," Nexen said in a statement.

Canadian officials have expressed interest in sending oil to China through pipelines to the western coast. In July, Chinese National Offshore Oil Corp. proposed to acquire Nexen.