China's National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planning body, said Friday that it approved Cnooc Ltd.'s (CEO) acquisition of Canadian oil-and-gas company Nexen Inc. (NXY) in December.
 
The NDRC cited the National Energy Administration in the statement published on its website, but didn't provide any additional information.
 
In December, the Canadian government approved Cnooc's proposed acquisition of Nexen, clearing a major hurdle for the Beijing-based energy giant in completing what would be the largest ever foreign acquisition by a Chinese company. The deal is still waiting approval by the U.S. government.
 
A Cnooc spokeswoman said last month that the deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of this year.
 
Cnooc and Nexen were already partners in developing Canada's oil sands. The Chinese company acquired Nexen's bankrupt partner, OPTI Canada Inc., which was involved in the Long Lake oil sands project, in 2011. Cnooc launched its all-cash bid for Nexen on July 23, offering $27.50 a share, or a premium of over 60% versus the share price on the last trading day before the two companies announced their proposed transaction.
 
For Cnooc, the Nexen deal comes seven years after the Chinese company's 2005 failure to acquire Unocal Corp. for $18.5 billion.