(Adds details on deal, previous sales of Canadian assets by international companies)
March 29 (Reuters) - Canada's Cenovus Energy Inc CVE.TO said on Wednesday it would buy ConocoPhillips' COP.N 50 percent stake in an oil sands venture owned by the two companies, and some oil and gas assets held by the U.S. company in Alberta and British Columbia for C$17.7 billion ($13.3 billion).
The company said the assets being bought are expected to produce about 298,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2017. deal is the latest example of an international oil major scaling back operations in the region and comes just weeks after Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L and Marathon Oil Corp (NYSE:MRO) MRO.N sold billions of dollars in oil sands assets and adds to uncertainty over future development of the western Canadian sedimentary basin.
Calgary-based Cenovus will pay C$14.1 billion in cash and 208 million Cenovus common shares, and launched an offering of common shares to raise C$3 billion ($2.25 billion).
Cenovus Chief Executive Brian Ferguson said the company intends to divest a significant portion of its legacy conventional assets to help fund the transaction.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) CEO Ryan Lance described the deal as a "significant win-win opportunity" for both parties, and said his company will use the cash portion of the deal to pay down debt and increase share repurchases.
($1 = 1.3329 Canadian dollars)