Canada opposition party urges rejection of CNOOC bid for Nexen

OTTAWA, Oct 4 (Reuters) - The Canadian government must reject CNOOC Ltd's $15.1 billion bid for Nexen Inc

as the Chinese state-owned oil company's offer is currently structured, the main opposition New Democratic Party said on Thursday.

"The lack of transparency in the approval process and an alarming number of unanswered questions, have pushed the NDP to reject, as currently structured, the transaction that would allow the state-owned CNOOC to take over the Canadian company Nexen," the left-leaning party said in a statement.

The NDP cannot on its own force the hand of the Conservative Party, which has a majority in Parliament, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he will take public opinion into account as his government decides whether to approve the bid.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren)

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Keywords: CNOOC NEXEN/CANADA OPPOSITION