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Alan Thicke talks Hollywood C5
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CENTRAL ALBERTA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER
BREAKING NEWS ONLINE AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM
TUESDAY, JULY 24, 2012
China makes play for Nexen US15.1-BILLION DEAL SUBJECT TO REGULATORY, GOVERNMENT APPROVAL BY LAUREN KRUGEL THE CANADIAN PRESS CALGARY — A major Canadian oil company is being acquired by China National Offshore Oil Co. in a US$15billion deal that, if successful, will be China’s largest ever overseas acquisition. With promises of making Calgary the base of its Western Hemisphere operations, plans to list its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange, and vows to keep all current Nexen Inc. employees and management, CNOOC says its cash bid for Nexen shows “we are in Canada to invest.” “We intend to be a local company as much as a global one,” CNOOC chief executive Li Fanrong told reporters on a conference call Monday. The friendly deal is still subject to shareholder, regulatory and government approval — and CNOOC says it reached out to the federal govern-
ment ahead of Monday’s announcement. The Chinese state-owned company will base its North and Central American operations — including $8 billion in existing CNOOC assets — out of Calgary, said Li.
the macro concerns about economic growth and we’ve seen oil prices slip back a little here, from CNOOC’s perspective it was probably now or never.” Nexen has faced numerous challenges over the past few years, includ-
‘We are in Canada to invest’ —LI FANRONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CHINA NATIONAL OFFSHORE OIL CO.
For years leading up to Mondays’ announcement, Nexen (TSX:NXY) had been a perennial subject of takeover speculation. “I’m not sure why it took so long,” said Lanny Pendill, an energy analyst with Edward Jones in St. Louis. “I think the fact that the sector has really been beaten down with all of
ing the troubled launch of its Long Lake oilsands project in northern Alberta in late 2008. The project has yet to come close to its design capacity of 72,000 barrels of bitumen per day due to a number of operational glitches, though performance has been improving in recent months. Last week, the company reported
that second-quarter profits tumbled nearly 57 per cent as it took a charge on an unsuccessful well in the Gulf of Mexico. Late last year it was shouldered out of a major project in Yemen amid political strife in the Middle Eastern country. CNOOC already had a 35 per cent stake in Long Lake after it took over Nexen’s erstwhile partner Opti Canada Ltd. for $2.1 billion last year. The two companies also work together in the Gulf of Mexico. So news that CNOOC is taking over Nexen in its entirety did not come out of the blue, said Wenran Jiang, a senior fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. The $15.1-billion Nexen deal stands in contrast to CNOOC’s $18.5-billion bid for U.S. energy company Unocal in 2005, which was ultimately nixed for political reasons.
Please see NEXEN on Page A3
Grounds keeper to the tennis stars OLDS COLLEGE GRAD PREPS COURTS TO HOST OLYMPIANS BY HARLEY RICHARDS ADVOCATE BUSINESS EDITOR Grant Cantin should have a prime vantage point from which to watch the world-class tennis players competing at the Olympic Games in London. But his attention will likely be focused on the ground beneath their feet. Cantin is deputy head groundsman at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, which hosts the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championships and is providing the tennis venue for the Olympics. A 2000 graduate of the Olds College’s turfgrass management program, the transplanted Albertan has been busy readying the grass
courts — which took a pounding during Wimbledon, from June 25 to July 8 — for the start of Olympic play on Saturday. “We’ve had two weeks to turn them around, and Roger Federer (the 2012 Wimbledon champ and world’s No. 1 ranked player) told me this morning they’re beautiful and they’re playing great,” said Cantin during a telephone interview on Monday. He’d also spoken with former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt that morning, and had recent conversations with the likes of Wimbledon runner-up Andy Murray and rising Canadian star Milos Raonic.
Conttrib ibutted d pho photo to o
Grant Cantin, deputy head groundsman at the Alll England Lawn Tennis Club in London, with 2012 2 Wimbledon champ Roger Federer.
Please see COURT on Page A2
College asks city for helping hand on milestone projects BY LAURA TESTER ADVOCATE STAFF
CITY COUNCIL
Red Deer College will continue to invest millions of dollars into the economy but it needs financial assistance to help it to expand, said president Joel Ward on Monday. Ward made a pitch to city council for $2 million towards several milestone projects that are expected to cost an estimated total of $10-15 million. Council unanimously voted to decide during its Aug. 20 meeting. “There are lots of places (across Canada) that would give their arm for an institution like ours,” said Ward. The college has been around for nearly 50 years and since then, it’s been a major contributor to the economy, Ward said. Last year alone, 75,000 people attended the Arts Centre for various functions. More than 125,000 people participated in learning, cultural, sport or other activity at RDC every single year, said Ward.
The $1 million would be used towards four projects. One project involves enhancing the lighting projection and image creation capabilities in the Arts Centre. The college is also looking to partner with the Central Alberta Theatre to enhance the City Centre stage in the former Uptown movie theatre on 49th Street. Program and space improvements are being considered for the Library Information Common. This includes investing significant dollars in technology and other learning resources. The college would also like to enhance future growth at the Donald School of Business downtown. Business school expansion involves adding physical space, expanding degree programs there, and expanding corporate and executive training. The city has contributed to the college infrastructure in the past — $1 million for the arts centre 25
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FORECAST ON A2
years ago and $1 million for the library 10 years ago. The provincial government takes note when municipalities invest dollars, so this money would help leverage more dollars, Ward said. “We see the city as a powerful partner,” said Ward. He further estimated that Red Deer is in the bottom third of Canadian municipalities when it comes to donations to their own post-secondary colleges. Currently, the college is home to a number of summer camps. “The city shares the benefit, so we think they should share the cost,” Ward said outside council chambers. On Monday, the college began its intensive lobbying campaign. Red Deer County and other regional partners will be approached about these key milestone projects. “We think we have a compelling case and we believe they’ll want to participate, and the cost is shared,” said Ward.
Please see COUNCIL on Page A2
CANADA
BUSINESS
B.C. WANTS MORE PIPELINE BENEFITS
EUROPE ON THE BRINK
B.C. is demanding a greater share of economic benefits from the controversial $5.5-billion Enbridge pipeline and a greater spread for the potential risks as some of the preconditions that must be satisfied to give its blessing to the project. A5
Europe’s debt crisis flared on Monday as fears intensified that Spain would be next in line for a government bailout. B1