OREANDA-NEWS. February 06, 2014. The USD230-million Chinese takeover of Canadian oil-and-gas junior Novus Energy Inc. was finalized, with officials from the state-owned company saying there’s more investment in Canada to come.

“The acquisition of Novus Energy is one very important step in terms of Yanchang Petroleum Group’s … development strategy,” said Shen Hao, chairman of Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum (Group) Co. Ltd., China’s fourth-largest oil producer.

“Next Yanchang Petroleum Group is expecting to further enhance their investments in Canada, using Novus Energy as their development platform,” he said, speaking through an interpreter at a Calgary press conference.

The sale of the company is a clear example of smaller oil patch deals – nowhere near the size, say, of China’s CNOOC Ltd.’s USD 15.1-billion acquisition of Nexen Inc. – that are more doable in a period of tepid deal making in Canada’s energy sector.

Shareholders of the light-oil focused Novus will receive USD 1.18 per common share. Novus chief executive officer Hugh Ross said the company, which already has holdings in Saskatchewan’s Viking oil play and Alberta, plans a series of acquisitions, first in their core plays “then you’ll see us branch out to a number of other acquisitions.” Mr. Ross added the name Novus will remain “for now.” Novus will become a part of Yanchang Petroleum International Ltd., the Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum, which is owned by the provincial government of Shaanxi rather than the central government in Beijing, as is the case with many other stated-owned Chinese firms.

The deal is not reviewable under Ottawa’s Investment Canada Act, meant to examine significant investments in Canada by non-Canadians, as it falls under the monetary threshold and is not an oil sands-related deal.

Speaking at the event, Alberta Energy Minister Diana McQueen said the province has a long history of welcoming foreign investment.

“Alberta has a keen interest to continue to attract Chinese investment, as it is a great benefit to our province,” she said.

“Oil and gas activity is capital-intensive, and as such, the development of these resources requires foreign investment, both private and state-owned.”

With the completion of the deal, Novus shares will be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange in a few days.