Toronto: India may soon sign a multi-billion-dollar deal with Canada to scour for oil in the oilsands of its Alberta province.

Quoting Indian Petroleum Secretary MS Srinivasan, Canada's Canwest News Service reported that India planned to sign the deal to hunt for oil in Alberta's oilsands this year.

"Indeed, we are going to get more actively engaged in the Canadian tar sands in the next six months, we are looking at opportunities," the news agency quoted Srinivasan as saying at the World Petroleum Congress in Madrid Thursday.

According to the petroleum secretary, India would "prefer to acquire assets over producing companies on a magnitude of at least $2 billion to $2.5 billion," the agency said.

"Size does matter,"Srinivasan was quoted as saying. "We would like to be going for an economically viable size; too small an acreage may not be a commercially viable proposition."

Srinivasan was also quoted as saying that "India had two teams in Canada looking at oilsands assets but became `busy' with other opportunities in other countries."
Alberta energy minister Mel Knight was also quoted as confirming that high-level delegations from India have indeed visited his province.