Cavalier Energy is a subsidiary of Paramount Resources, a Canadian firm controlled by the Riddell family. Cavalier now holds the rights for 1,994 net sections of oilsands land, according to its most recent investor presentation. The transaction involves thousands of hectares of land; its value was not disclosed. (Financial Post)

Talking point: This is another large international firm getting out of Canada’s oilsands. Wichita, Kan.-based Koch is one of the largest private firms in the world, owned by U.S. billionaires Charles and David Koch. Other recent divestments include ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil, both based in Houston, as well as Oklahoma City’s Devon Energy. A dearth of new export pipelines has made development difficult in the area, causing investors to move toward more profitable projects, like the Permian Basin, located in Texas and New Mexico. Many of the firms buying up the divested land have been Canadian, including Suncor Energy and Athabasca Oil. Through Cavalier, Paramount has become a major player in the space. Koch is the latest company to allow unsold lands’ leases to expire instead of paying rent, a sign of the leases’ depleting value. Earlier this year, MEG Energy announced it would do the same.