@rick
good point - think the equity portion of CVE is about 20% for COP - very significant. Don't think they plan to keep as a long term investment, but it is a nice hedge and an asset that can be monetized in due course (perhaps to fund share buybacks in future years).
On Shell - they had a huge debt issue with the $50B BG deal and it was a sale under stress - had little to do with cost structure or regulatory environment in Canada - CNRL got a good deal - actually increased their dividend cash about $1 per share.