Nexen

Nexen is a Canadian oil and gas company based in Calgary, Alberta. On 25 February 2013, Nexen became a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CNOOC Limited.It has three growth strategies: oil sands and shale gas in western Canada as well as conventional exploration and development primarily in the North Sea, offshore in West Africa, and deepwater exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.HistoryNexen started in 1969 as Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd. (CanOxy), and was 80% owned by Occidental Petroleum, an oil company based in Los Angeles. In the first decade of its existence, CanOxy was fairly Canadian-oriented. During the 1980s and 1990s they increased their international holdings, first in the Gulf of Mexico, then into places like Yemen and the North Sea. Further Canadian assets were also acquired.In the 1990s, Nexen, then known as CanOxy, purchased the assets of what once was the first state-owned oil and gas company in North America; Wascana Energy Inc., formerly known as SaskOil. Founded by Saskatchewan New Democratic Party Premier Allan Blakeney in 1973, Saskoil was privatized in 1986 by Progressive Conservative Premier Grant Devine.