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Not long ago, Norway’s Statoil ASA was going to build a $10 billion oilsands project in Alberta, put its reputation on the line to defend the deposits in its home country against a smear campaign led by Greenpeace, and even contemplated a massive upgrader near Edmonton.

It all came to a halt late Wednesday when Statoil sold out of the oilsands altogether at a loss, leaving it with no operated assets in Western Canada.

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It’s the starkest sign yet that the oilsands have lost their lustre against other global opportunities, particularly tight oil. Sure, the oil price crash had a lot to do with it. But a decade of climate change policy uncertainty and anti-oilsands campaigns didn’t help.

Paul Fulton, president of Statoil’s Canadian affiliate, said the Norwegian state-controlled giant wanted to “optimize” its portfolio to focus on new core assets in places like Norway, the United States and Brazil.