Cenovus goes big

Can the Deep Basin help Cenovus make a success of its ConocoPhillips deal?

Canada's Cenovus Energy is primarily known as the country's largest thermal oil sands players, operating some 360,000 barrels per day of steamed, tarry bitumen output in northeastern Alberta. But with its blockbuster C$17.7bn ($13.19bn) buyout of much of ConocoPhillips' Canadian business, the industry's biggest M&A deal since Shell bought BG, it has suddenly become the country's third-largest unconventional gas producer. In addition to the 50% stake in the Foster Creek Christina Lake (FCCL) oil sands project, Cenovus acquired nearly 3m acres of unconventional shale and tight gas acreage in a region known as the Deep Basin, which straddles the northern Alberta and British Columbia borders