The Financial Post reports in its Friday edition that recent deals in Canada's oil sector are sparking speculation about a revival of foreign investment in this often overlooked energy market. The Post's Meghan Potkins writes that Baytex Energy announced the sale of its U.S. shale operations for $3.25-billion last week, in a move it characterized as "sharpening focus" on its core Canadian assets. Its announcement follows a wave of deal-making in Alberta's oil patch involving U.S. companies or capital: Ovintiv's $3.8-billion acquisition of NuVista Energy and Cygnet Energy's $1.4-billion bid for Kiwetinohk Energy. BMO Capital's Jeremy Mccrea said in the case of Baytex and Ovintiv, the moves appear to be a rebalancing toward Canada by producers operating in both countries and seeing better deals and returns north of the border. He said: "Many foreign operators are looking at Canada again. Ovintiv is a good example: here is an operator with assets split in Canada and the U.S., and over the past year it has made two major acquisitions into Canada while selling down U.S. assets." Interest in the Canadian oil patch is rising due to increasing U.S. shale oil production costs and a shortage of profitable drilling locations.