THE China National Petroleum Corp has signed a co-operation agreement with Canada's oil-rich Saskatchewan province. In a statement, CNPC said the agreement came after both parties exchanged views on the future of bilateral co-operation during a visit by the Premier of Saskatchewan province to Beijing: the company said that at the end of the meeting a co-operation memorandum of understanding was signed between the two sides. The agreement follows a visit to China in late October by Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, where they discussed 'ideas and opinions on the promising future of petroleum co-operation between CNPC and Canada.' The talks with Canadian officials coincide with the $4.18billion purchase of PetroKazakhstan, an oil company with its operations in Kazakhstan but based in Canada, by CNPC. PetroKazakhstan has just announced that the Alberta Court in Canada has approved the company's acquisition by CNPC for $55 share in cash. Canada has oil sands which all of China's oil companies are hoping to tap into. Media reports said earlier that Sinopec and CNPC are considering teaming up with Canadian pipeline company Terasen to increase the capacity of an existing pipeline to Vancouver. They also said PetroChina, CNPC's listed unit, is talking with Canadian Oil Sands Trust. In June Sinopec agreed to pay $150million for a 40% stake in a joint venture to produce synthetic crude from western Canada's oil sands reserves, and in December last year CNOOC acquired a 16.69% stake in Canada's MEG Energy Corp for $150million.