Marathon Oil (MRO), which I recommend in my Blue Chip Growth Letter, is buying Canada's Western Oil Sands for $5.46 billion. This is a very exciting deal.

There's a big rush going on to get a hold of Canada's rich tar sands. The deposits there are estimated to be the second-largest in the world behind Saudi Arabia. Also, countries like Russia and Venezuela are being increasingly hostile to foreign investment.

Clarence P. Cazalot, Jr., president and CEO of Marathon said, "The Athabasca Oil Sands Project is truly a world-class asset with multi-billion barrel, long-life resource potential. Marathon's strategically advantaged U.S. Midwest downstream business is well positioned to provide both near and long-term solutions to maximize the value of these substantial bitumen resources. We are joining an ongoing and expanding project with strong partners, and collectively, we will be able to apply our technical and commercial skills to maximize both the recovery and value of these resources."

I currently rate Marathon Oil a strong buy up to $67 a share.