Canada's integrated oil companies are likely to stick to their diversified structures rather than follow U.S. counterpart ConocoPhillips (COP.N) with a split, as their refining businesses act as a crucial hedge to their oil sands and heavy oil production.The chances of a bump in value resulting from a split are also questionable. Unlike the case in the United States, there is no group of pure-play Canadian refiners trading in the marketplace that would allow investors to gauge whether such a drastic move would bear fruit, analysts said. Canada's integrated companies -- Suncor Energy Inc (SU.TO), Imperial Oil Ltd (IMO.TO) and Husky Energy Inc (HSE.TO) -- run large exploration and production businesses with major investments in the Alberta oil sands as well as "downstream" refining and retail arms. In addition, Cenovus Energy Inc (CVE.TO) is partner with ConocoPhillips in a number of oil sands production assets, as well as two of the oil major's refineries. It sees mostly business as usual after the ConocoPhillips split-up.
Shares of COP traded higher by 1.63% or $1.21/share to $75.61. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $48.06 and as high as $81.80. On average, 8350620 shares of COP exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 61886728.
Shares of SU fell by 1.34% or $-0.53/share to $39.15. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $29.15 and as high as $48.53. On average, 6286740 shares of SU exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 5783202.
Shares of IMO fell by 0.8% or $-0.37/share to $46.10. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $35.65 and as high as $55.63. On average, 436900 shares of IMO exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 189972.
Shares of CVE traded higher by 0.26% or $0.1/share to $37.87. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $24.61 and as high as $40.73. On average, 1571750 shares of CVE exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1964146.
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