A Chinese energy company is reportedly trying to dispose of its oil exploration and drilling rights in Alberta, Canada.

Canada Changhua Energy Co Ltd, a branch of China's Shangdong Changhua Food Group, owns 54 oil production pads within a 138.24 sqm area in Calgary, capital city of Alberta. It reportedly now seeks investors to either co-develop or purchase the entire site.

The project broker surnamed Liu and from China Beijing Equity Exchange Group (CBEX), confirmed the news to China Daily on Wednesday.

The oil zone that Changhua Group acquired in 2011 is located within the Duvernay formation in Alberta and is said to have a reserve of shale oil roughly worth $5.721 billion.

According to information released by CBEX, the present net value of Changhua Group's whole oil project in Alberta is $617 million.

By the end of 2014, the Chinese company produced 500 barrels of oil per day from its seven oil wells in the zone.

Analysts say the relatively low production contributes insignificant cash flow to the company, especially amid the drop in oil prices.

Global oil exporters, including the US shale drillers and Canada's Alberta oil sand, have reeled from the declining oil prices, which has halved since last June.

"Overseas oil exploiting usually demands a large expenditure including exploration, infrastructure building, human resources and other drilling costs," said Tian Qinghou, a professor in the school of economics and management, China University of Petroleum. "Combining the issues such as global market fluctuation, which requires the investors to have a stable capital source and a high anti-risk capability."

Some industrial analysts, however, believe that it is the best timing for Chinese companies to purchase energy, such as oil and gas fields, overseas.

Changhua Food Group, founded in 1995 in East China's Shandong province, operates its main business in seafood processing and export. It is a listed company in the Singapore stock market.

The Duvernay formation，a vast underground rock formation as big as South Korea, holds 443 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, 11.3-billion barrels of natural gas liquids and 61.7-billion barrels of oil, according to mid-point estimates by Alberta's Geological Survey in 2013.

Other Chinese players in the zone include China's two oil giants, Petro China (in a joint venture with Encana Corp) and Sinopec Canada, a subsidiary of China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group).