On Monday, Cnooc, the Chinese state-run oil giant, agreed to buy Nexen of Canada for $15 billion, as global players look to beef up their access to natural resources.

Under the terms of the deal, Cnooc will pay $27.50 a share for the Canadian oil and natural gas company. The price is 61 percent above Nexen’s closing price on Friday.

Through the acquisition, Cnooc will also gain valuable footholds in oil- and gas-producing areas around the world, including western Canada, the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the waters off Nigeria.

“This is an exciting opportunity for us to build on our existing joint venture relationship with Nexen in Canada, and to acquire a leading international platform in the process,” Wang Yilin, the chairman of Cnooc, said in a statement.