China makes first investment in Alberta’s oil sands

China has made a small leap forward into Alberta’s oil sands, snapping up a stake in a low-profile private operator as a “footstep” into the world’s second-biggest reserves of oil.

China National Offshore Oil Corp. — publicly traded but state-controlled — said yesterday that it has bought a one-sixth share in Calgary-based MEG Energy Corp. for $150-million, a climax to months of speculation about a Chinese investment in the oil sands