Athabasca Oil Corp. (ATH) closed a C$1.18 ($1.1 billion) agreement with PetroChina Co. (857) to sell the rest of its Dover oil-sands project, ending weeks of speculation about whether the Chinese company would pay. The shares rose. PetroChina’s payment includes C$600 million in cash and C$584 million in promissory notes due through August 2016, backed by guarantees from HSBC Bank Canada, Athabasca said today. The original agreement was for PetroChina to pay in cash. The settlement comes two months after Calgary-based Athabasca had estimated the deal would close after triggering the sale of its 40 percent stake in Dover earlier this year. The payment was delayed as the Chinese government was investigating PetroChina executives over allegations of corruption, according to reports from publications including Beijing-based Caixin. A report in Canada ’s Financial Post was among several suggesting the state-owned company was trying to delay its purchase or claw back […]