China's top offshore oil producer, CNOOC Ltd (0883.HK), has agreed to purchase struggling Opti Canada Inc (OPC.TO) for $34 million and $2 billion in debt, bolstering its position in the Canadian oil sands. The deal, announced on Wednesday, ends Opti's two-year search for a buyer willing to absorb its crushing debt and brings CNOOC a 35 percent stake in the Long Lake oil sands project in northern Alberta that has run well under its capacity since opening two years ago. China has been scouring the globe for energy resources to feed its fast-growing economy but has often run into regulatory, political and procedural hurdles in getting deals done. North America's unconventional energy sources such as shale gas, coal-bed methane and oil sands are attracting increasing attention from China and other countries as traditional oil supplies dry up.
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