The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, Oct. 6, edition that Cenovus Energy plans to buy Athabasca Oil for about $5.7-billion in cash and stock. The Globe's Emma Graney writes that the deal will add about 45,000 barrels a day to Cenovus's production, with a potential increase to around 115,000 barrels a day by 2032. The Athabasca assets are close to existing undeveloped resources Cenovus already owns in northern Alberta, including Thornbury and May River, which together hold an estimated 550 million barrels of proven and probable reserves. Cenovus says this transaction creates the possibility, in time, to access those resources without building a new greenfield processing facility. TD Cowen analyst Menno Hulshof says Cenovus's balance sheet can easily absorb the deal, particularly because the oil company exited the third quarter with only $3-billion in debt. That number is expected to reach roughly $5-billion by the end of the year, "which remains very manageable," says Mr. Hulshof. Cenovus appears to be paying "a fuller price" for Athabasca, but "given it is one of the last remaining thermal plays and arguably carries a scarcity premium, that was inevitable," says Mr. Hulshof.