Suncor Energy to acquire additional 5 percent stake in Syncrude

(Reuters) - Canadian oil and gas producer Suncor Energy Inc said on Wednesday it has agreed to pay about C$937 million to acquire an additional 5 percent stake in its Syncrude oil sands joint venture from Murphy Oil Corp's Canadian unit.

The deal would increase the company's share in Syncrude to 53.74 percent, Suncor said in a statement.

Together with Suncor's acquisition of Canadian Oil Sands in March, the company's production capacity would increase by 17,500 barrels per day of high-quality light sweet synthetic crude, Suncor Chief Executive Steve Williams said.

Murphy Oil said in a statement it expected the deal to close at mid-year.

(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang)