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June 20 (Reuters) - Cenovus Energy Inc CVE.TO said on Tuesday it would sell $4 billion to $5 billion in non-core assets to reduce debt after it paid about C$17 billion ($12.8 billion) last month to buy ConocoPhillips' COP.N western Canadian oil sands assets.
Cenovus also said Chief Executive Brian Ferguson would retire in October after eight years at the helm of the Canadian oil company. The board will begin a global search for a new CEO, Cenovus said. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) deal, announced in March, effectively doubled Cenovus's size, but wiped out about a fifth of its market value as some investors complained that the deal price was too high. company said it would use proceeds from the sale of the non-core assets to pay down the $3.6 billion in debt it used to fund the ConocoPhillips deal. = 1.3247 Canadian dollars)
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